Source: Radio New Zealand
OKSANA KAZYKINA/123RF
New Zealand’s largest drug maker AFT Pharmaceuticals has reported strong full year sales growth and net profit, giving the company reason to lift its 2027 revenue target to more than $300 million.
Company chair David Flacks said the strength of its core Australasian business and increasing geographic and product diversification supported the strong result with double digit growth in all its regions.
Key numbers for the 12 months ended March compared with a year ago:
- Net profit $14.7m v $12m up 23%
- Total revenue $254.7m v $208m up 22%
- Underlying profit $28.8m v $20.9m
- Gross margin 42.4% v 44%
- FY dividend 2.5 cents per share v 1.8 cps
Managing director Dr Hartley Atkinson said the company, which was best known for its Maxigesic pain medication, was growing in its established markets and expanding into others.
The company expanded its footprint in the UK, Europe, North America and South Africa,
“And we are building a wider, more diversified AFT through disciplined international expansion, out-licensing the intellectual property from our R&D programs, and further advancing our efforts to address unmet clinical needs,” he said.
Gross margin on product sales and royalties were down on the year earlier, though expected to improve in the current financial year, with underlying profit forecast to reach between $28m and $32m.
Atkinson said total expenses were up over the year, but down as a proportion of sales at 33.8 percent versus 35.6 percent the year earlier, as it spent more to fund growth.
The company was continuing to invest as part of its plan to expand in Australasian markets, and fund a strong programme of launches across International hubs, with the U.K. and South African markets expected to make a “meaningful contribution” to earnings in the current financial year.
It was expecting to make more progress in R&D and regulatory milestones, with an active licensing programme intended to monetise AFT’s intellectual property and broaden its geographic reach.
“We are well positioned to continue to grow by focusing on what we do best – identifying unmet clinical needs, in-licensing or developing medicines, and commercialising them to improve health globally,” Atkinson said.
“Importantly, our increasing geographic and product diversification supports the resilience of the business.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/aft-pharmaceuticals-lifts-its-2027-revenue-target-to-above-300-million/