Year-end report January–December 2013

January-December 2013

Fourth quarter 2013

CEO statement

2013 was an important year for Meda, focused on investments and organic growth. The year had a slow start but organic growth accelerated in the second half of the year to reach 4% for the full year, which is stronger compared with previous years. For the fourth quarter organic growth increased to 10% coupled with an improved EBITDA margin to 29%. It was above all Emerging Markets and our ongoing launch of Dymista that supported the acceleration in growth throughout the year and with a strong finish we slightly exceeded the 2013 guidance.

We have in 2013 shown that our investments in growth areas have started to bear fruit. We continued our efforts in Emerging Markets by adding sales people in selected markets and extending the product offering. For the full year organic growth for these markets reached 14% with the major growth impact coming from new markets like China and Brazil as well as several markets in CIS. We expect the positive trend to continue although there will be fluctuations in growth between different Emerging Markets over time.

Organic growth for the OTC area improved during the fourth quarter and reached 3% for the full year. This growth is above all a result of the launch of our international brands CB12 and Endwarts in new markets. Brand building takes time but we are confident that we will see accelerated growth from our international OTC brands through new and more targeted marketing activities.

Sales of Dymista reached SEK 449 million in 2013. This means that the product took the position as Meda´s third largest product in terms of sales during this launch phase. In the US Dymista has been well received by the medical profession and patients. Sales in the fourth quarter reached SEK 146 million compared to SEK 100 million in the third quarter. The sales uptake during the off-season period has been somewhat held back by a restricted formulary position with some of the payors. Since then we have been able to improve Dymista´s formulary position for 2014 which gives us confidence for the upcoming allergy season.

As already stated we are not satisfied with the level of our cost of goods. We have started to analyze the situation both within our own manufacturing sites as well as with contract manufacturers. This has resulted in several initiatives to reduce manufacturing costs and it is our aim that this will lead to improved gross margins over time.

In addition to Dymista, we are also getting prepared for the launch of Aerospan, a very interesting product with good sales potential. The launch work is running according to plan and the launch is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

To conclude, we have the strategy and core strengths required to expand our position in our industry. Our position is well defined, our go-to-market capabilities are strong and we have both scale and efficiency to leverage our product portfolio. With greater focus on faster growing areas, both in terms of products and geographies, Meda’s growth outlook is favorable.

For 2014 we foresee continued good organic growth in line with 2013 and improved EBITDA margin.

Jörg-Thomas Dierks
CEO

1)      Organic growth: Sales growth adjusted for currency effects, acquisitions, disposed operations and revenues from the cooperation agreement with Valeant. 2)      Including a positive non-recurring effect of SEK 179 million in Q4 2012 due to a reduction in the Swedish corporate tax rate.

Webcast presentation of the report on 19 February at 10.30 CET
The presentation can be accessed at www.meda.se/sv/finansiell-information, where a recorded version will also be available until the next report is presented.

For further inquiries, please contact:
Paula Treutiger, Investor Relations, paula.treutiger@meda.se, +46 733-666 599.


The company’s auditors did not review this year-end report.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This report is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy shares in Meda. This report also contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to certain future events and Meda’s potential financial performance. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts and may sometimes include words such as “may”, “will”, “seek”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “forecast”, “believe”, or other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations on future events of the management at the time such statements are made, but are made subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. In the event such risks or uncertainties materialize, Meda’s results could be materially affected. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of pharmaceutical research and product development, manufacturing and commercialization, the impact of competitive products, patents, legal challenges, government regulation and approval, Meda’s ability to secure new products for commercialization and/or development, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Meda AB’s interim or annual reports, prospectuses, or press releases. Listeners and readers are cautioned that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statement. Meda does not intend or undertake to update any such forward-looking statements.

Meda AB

Pipers väg 2A, Box 906, SE-170 09 Solna, Sweden, Phone: +46 8-630 19 00, Fax: +46 8-630 19 50, E-mail: info@meda.se, www.meda.se, Corp ID: 556427-2812


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