IMA investments paying off

Pharmaceutical packaging and processing machinery specialist IMA has announced its half year results, with its active expansion plans paying dividends and its pharma business going strong.

The company's operating profit has jumped over 50 per cent compared to H1 last year, hitting €24.3m over the first six months of this year.

Although IMA is a market leader in the supply of packaging machinery to the tea industry and enjoys a 70 per cent share of the market, it is sales to the pharmaceutical industry that have driven the improved results over the second quarter.

Revenues from pharmaceutical packaging machinery totalled €120.4m over the first half, with pharmaceutical processing machinery bringing in revenues of €50.8m - both a healthy increase on the previous year, and somewhat more than the €36.4m brought in by the tea franchise.

"There is a level of seasonality in the demand for [pharmaceutical] machinery, but the quarter was very good in terms of deliveries," Sergio Marzo of IMA told in-PharmaTechnlogist.com.

"The last two years have been very good, with demand from industry for new equipment for new drugs and generic drugs."

With a healthy consolidated order book and a favourable second quarter, the company has also upped its guidance for the full year, now estimating a gross operating profit of €75m (compared to the Q1 estimate of €71m) and operating profit of €64m (€53.4m in 2006).

IMA has been actively seeking to expand its presence in the pharmaceutical sector over the past few years, with 2007 being no exception. In April, IMA subsidiary VIMA Impianti bought out rival firm Zanchetta in a deal worth €1.4m.

Zanchetta, although a relatively small firm, was a leading competitor in the production of machines for the handling and granulation of pharmaceutical powders, and its acquisition was a key step in increasing the group's presence in the market.

"Zanchetta is a small company but is performing well," said Marzo.

"Although it will not contribute a very significant amount of revenues this year, we will merge it with another business and there is a good possibility of growth."

Only two weeks ago IMA also announced that it had taken a stake in fellow Italian firm Pierrel, a contract research, development and production company for the pharmaceutical industry. IMA now holds an 8.5 per cent stake in the firm, a strategic decision to improve links with the pharmaceutical industry and potential pharma customers.

"The collaboration with Pierrel is way to have a relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, and understand the processes used in R&D to decide how to produce or package drugs," explained Marzo.

The partnership will also give IMA access to contacts at pharmaceutical companies that may be interested in new processing machinery and equipment being developed by the firm.

The company remains dedicated to its aims to actively expand its presence in the pharmaceutical sector, and although it is unlikely that there will be news of any more acquisitions in the next few months, Marzo commented that the company is "always looking for possibilities to widen the product range."

With 2007 proving a positive year for the company so far, managing director of IMA Alberto Vacchi sees the company's good fortunes continuing into 2008 as the group pushes to expand its offerings to the pharmaceutical sector and follow up on the targeted investments of the first half of this year.
Source: in-pharmatechnologist