Financial

Zoetis Adds Abbott, Plans More Apoquel

February 11, 2015

Zoetis Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of veterinary drugs and vaccines, this week wrapped up its takeover of Abbott Animal Health and reported a jump in 2014 sales and profits. The Florham Park, N.J., company also confirmed that veterinarians eager to prescribe the popular but hard-to-find anti-itch drug Apoquel will see increased supplies starting in April. The completion of the $255 million acquisition of Abbott was announced Tuesday, less than three months after a tentative deal was reported. The transaction expands Zoetis’ offerings in the areas of diabetes, anesthesia and pain relief. Among the products that moved to Zoetis are the AlphaTrak blood glucose monitoring system, the anesthesia drug SevoFlo and the feline pain reliever Simbadol. “We believe Zoetis’ scale, industry-leading field force and global presence will rapidly expand the reach and penetration of these newly acquired, leading brands for the veterinary surgical suite,” Group President Kristin Peck said. Abbott Animal Health, a division of Abbott Laboratories of Abbott Park, Ill., was a much smaller player in the veterinary pharmaceutical market. The division posted about $80 million in annual revenue, some 60 times less than the $4.8 billion that Zoetis reported today for all of 2014. Zoetis’ fourth-quarter and …

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Abaxis Enjoys Huge Jump in Sales, Profit

January 30, 2015

Third-quarter revenue and profit skyrocketed at Abaxis Inc. as the maker of point-of-care blood analyzers continued moving from direct sales to a distributor network. The Union City, Calif., company, which serves the veterinary and human medicine markets, on Thursday reported revenue of $59.5 million in the third quarter ending Dec. 31, 2014. The figure, a record, was a 46 percent spike over the same period in 2013. Gross profit jumped by 51 percent, to $29.2 million. About three-fourths of Abaxis’ business is in the veterinary arena. President and CEO Clint Severson praised the company’s distributors. Henry Schein Animal Health and Patterson Veterinary Supply began selling Abaxis products in the third quarter. “Our distribution partners are doing a great job of broadly embedding our leading-edge products and technologies within the medical and veterinary communities,” Severson said. The company is growing in other ways. Its acquisition of QCR & Trio Diagnostics Ltd., a United Kingdom-based distributor, became official in November 2014. Earlier in the year, the VCA Animal Hospitals chain agreed to stock Abaxis’ VetScan VS2 chemistry analyzers and diagnostic reagent discs. Most of the financial achievements were homegrown, company spokeswoman Valerie Goodwin-Adams said. “The success comes from the North American …

VCA Hospitals to Promote Trupanion Insurance

January 12, 2015

Trupanion Inc. today was named the preferred pet health insurance provider at 580 VCA animal hospitals across the United States. The agreement brings additional visibility to a growing company that as of late October insured more than 207,000 cats and dogs, a 30 percent jump in one year. The exclusive arrangement includes in-clinic signage and brochures as well as a presence on the VCA website, Trupanion spokeswoman Britta Gidican said. “Trupanion will be the only vendor seen within hospitals,” she said. Bob Antin, CEO of the Los Angeles-based VCA chain, called the relationship “an important bridge to helping our pet friends stay healthy and happy.” “Together, VCA and Trupanion can help our clients access the highest and most suitable level of pet care that our veterinarians recommend,” Antin said. Trupanion went public last summer with a $71 million stock sale. The Seattle company planned to spend the money ramping up its marketing and paying down debt. The company’s business model pays for 90 percent of all veterinary diagnostics tests, surgeries, medications and hospital stays. Trupanion’s latest financial report showed a 37 percent jump in third-quarter revenue, to $30 million, compared with the same period in 2013. The …

Veterinary Distributor MWI Selling for $2.5 Billion

January 12, 2015

MWI Veterinary Supply Inc., one of the largest U.S. wholesalers of animal health products, has reached a tentative agreement to be acquired by AmerisourceBergen Corp., a leading distributor of human drugs. The $2.5 billion deal is subject to the approval of MWI shareholders but is expected to close by March, the companies announced today. The transaction would put AmerisourceBergen in the veterinary sector for the first time. The Chesterbrook, Pa., company has nearly $120 billion in annual global revenue and employs about 14,000 people. MWI, founded in 1976 by Millard Wallace Ickes, DVM, projects fiscal 2015 revenue of $3.2 billion from the distribution of companion animal, equine and livestock veterinary products in the United States and the United Kingdom. “Animal health is a growing market in the U.S. and internationally and is a logical extension of our pharmaceutical distribution and services businesses,” said Steven H. Collis, AmerisourceBergen’s president and CEO. “Combined with MWI’s expertise in veterinary and agricultural markets, we will collaboratively launch the next generation of superior animal health products and services together,” he added. The all-cash transaction, which won the unanimous endorsement of the MWI board of directors, is valued at $190 a share, an 8 …

Elanco Completes Takeover of Novartis Animal Health

January 9, 2015

Novartis Animal Health is no more. The division of Swiss-based Novartis AG officially merged with Elanco Animal Health as of Jan. 1 in a $5.4 billion sale to Elanco’s parent company, Eli Lilly and Co. One day later, Novartis’ U.S. line of Sentinel canine heartworm and flea preventives was spun off to competitor Virbac for $410 million to satisfy regulators’ concerns. The marriage of Novartis Animal Health and Elanco created the world’s second-largest veterinary pharmaceutical company after Zoetis Inc. “Elanco’s acquisition of Novartis Animal Health brings together two strong companies with a passion for serving the customer,” said Rob Aukerman, president of North American commercial operations for Elanco. “We will continue to offer the products our customers trust, while significantly investing in the development of new solutions to our customers’ greatest unmet needs.” Absent from the Elanco portfolio are Sentinel Flavor Tabs and Sentinel Spectrum, which Fort Worth, Texas-based Virbac will now sell. The line generated more than $90 million in U.S. sales in 2014. Virbac also took on an undisclosed number of Novartis employees—“predominantly commercial teams,” according to the company. “The addition of these strong brands to Virbac’s current portfolio of products, together with the doubling …

MWI Veterinary Supply Q4 Revenue Jumps 45%

November 9, 2010

MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. of Meridian, Idaho, reported net income of $8.8 million on revenue of $358.9 million for its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to net income of $6.6 million on revenue of $247.5 million in the year-ago period. This represents a 45 percent growth in revenue for the quarter. Of the 45 percent increase, 19.2 percent was due to organic growth in the United States and 25.8 percent was related to the company’s acquisition of Centaur. Excluding the acquisition, revenue attributable to existing customers represented 40 percent of the growth in total revenue during the quarter, according to MWI Veterinary Supply. Internet sales to independent veterinary practices and producers in the United States grew about 53 percent for the quarter compared to the year-ago period. Product sales from the Internet as a percentage of sales in the United States improved to 35 percent for the quarter, compared to 32 percent in the year-ago period. The company also noted that it added six field sales representatives and 12 telesales representatives in the United States during the quarter. Year to date, MWI Veterinary Supply reported net income of $33.4 million on revenue of …

Neogen’s Animal Safety Division: 39% Increase In Q1

October 5, 2010

Neogen Corp.’s animal safety division reported revenue of $20.7 million for its first quarter ended Aug. 31, up 39 percent from revenue of $14.9 million in the year-ago period. While the April acquisition of the GeneSeek agricultural genetics laboratory service business contributed significantly to the quarter-over-quarter revenue gain, a number of core product lines experienced significant revenue increases compared to the previous year, according to Neogen. Sales of Neogen’s Ideal veterinary instruments increased by 35 percent in the first quarter compared to the year-ago period, sales of veterinary surgical supply products increased about 10 percent and sales of veterinary supplements increased 57 percent. Overall, the Lansing, Mich.-based company reported net income of $5.8 million on revenue of $42.9 million for its first quarter, compared to net income of $4.4 million on revenue of $32.3 million in the year-ago period.

Financial News Briefs - December 2009

December 7, 2009

VCA Same-Store Revenue Drops 4.9% VCA Antech Inc.’s animal hospital division reported revenue of $257.4 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $253.3 million in the year-ago period. The 1.6 percent increase was driven by acquisitions made in the past 12 months. Same-store revenue dropped by 4.9 percent during the quarter. However, the company noted that same-store gross profit margin improved by 40 basis points, to 20.5 percent. Four acquisitions made during the quarter had combined annual revenue of $8.4 million. Year to date, the division reported revenue of $757 million, compared to $730.4 million in the year-ago period. VCA Antech’s laboratory division reported third-quarter revenue of $77.5 million, compared to $77.1 million in the year-ago period. Year to date, the division’s revenue was $237.8 million, up from $235.6 million. VCA Antech’s medical technology division reported third-quarter revenue of $13.7 million, compared to $12.5 million in the year-ago period. Year to date, the revenue was $33.5 million, down from $38.2 million. Overall, the Los Angeles-based company reported third-quarter net income of $37.5 million on revenue of $338.6 million, compared to $36.9 million and $332 million, respectively, in the year-ago period. …

Neogen Reports Increased Q4 Revenue For Animal Safety Division

September 1, 2009

Neogen Corp.’s Animal Safety Division reported revenue of $15 million in the fourth quarter ended May 31, compared to $11.5 million in the year-ago period. Year to date, the division had revenue of $57.7 million, compared to $44.8 million in the year-ago period. The Lansing, Mich., company noted that the successful integration of the acquired DuPont line of disinfectants and cleaners and IDS drug-residue diagnostics contributed to the majority of the revenue growth for the year. Sales of the DuPont products exceeded first-year expectations by more than 10 percent, according to Neogen. Sales of existing product lines achieved organic growth of 6 percent in the fourth quarter and 4 percent for the year. Domestic sales of Neogen’s line of rodenticides saw growth of 11 percent for the year, led by market share gains in argonomic markets. Sales of Neogen’s Kare line of small-animal supplements rose more than 40 percent. Overall, Neogen reported fourth-quarter net income of $3.4 million on revenue of $30.9 million, compared to $3.2 million and $27.1 million, respectively, in the year-ago period. Year to date, the company reported net income of $13.9 million …

VCA Antech’s Same-Store Revenue Declines 3.3%