Pharmaceutical company, Intravenous Infusion PLC (ILL), has announced its intentions to enter the West African sub-regional market.
According to the company, this is because of an unanticipated wane in the company’s revenue. This decline, to the company, is as a result of a reduction in Outpatient Department (OPD) attendance and the postponement of elective surgeries due to the COVID-19 pandemic in many health facilities in Ghana.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Isaac Osei, has indicated that regardless of the company’s positive returns in 2019, the decision to enter the international market will further improve sales of its specialised pharmaceutical products which are currently in low demand in Ghana due to the health crisis.
According to him, the company’s increase in revenue of 14.2% year on year with a profit before tax margin of 10% was because it leveraged on its strong brand and customer loyalty.
He was speaking at the company’s 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra,
He also let out a loan facility the company has acquired to aid in the expansion of the company.
“In 2019, the company under the Government of Ghana Stimulus Package, secured a medium term loan facility of US$3.2m from Ecobank Ghana Ltd for the procurement of equipment and for the physical expansion of the factory to house some of the new equipment.
“We believe the investment will increase production capacity, reduce unit cost of production and improve the Quality Management Systems of the company to ensure full compliance with the directives of our regulator, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). In addition, Ecobank approved a revolving short-term facility of GHS5,000,000 to support the working capital requirements of the company.”
To further boost the company’s fortunes, it has also received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for additional shares of 32,200,000 to be listed on the Exchange after the finalization of the Private Placement offer which took place on April 8, 2019.
“In all, the company raised GHS¢3.22 million from a possible GHS¢5.4 million. The funds received were used to support working capital requirements and make partial payment for equipment purchases. The National Investment Bank in May 2019 agreed to convert a loan of GHS1.56 million owed them by the company to an equivalent number of 15.6 million shares. These new capital injections together with the profits made for the year increased shareholders’ funds by 22.3%.”
Mr. Osei, who is a former Member of Parliament for Subin constituency in the Ashanti region in furtherance pointed out that, the company’s average selling price declined by 16.7% during 2019, due to government’s decision to review prices of all essential medicines on the National Health Insurance Authority Scheme. Government did this by setting a ceiling on NHIA reimbursement to hospital facilities for the supply of medicines.
However, he indicated that this bend in prices is expected to peak by end of this year, 2020.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors also announced that, the company has intensified its collaboration on product development with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). As such, the country should expect the addition Paracetamol V to its list of products after a successful collaboration with the KNUST School of Pharmacy with the approval of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
