Aspen’s half year earnings up, expects coronavirus impact

Aspen Pharmacare reported a marginal rise in half-year normalised earnings on Thursday as the drugmaker’s manufacturing unit benefited from the restart of heparin sales to third party customers.

The nearly 170-year-old drug maker, with a presence in about 56 countries, said normalised headline earnings per share from continuing operations rose to 707 cents in the six-months ended December 31, from a restated 702.4 cents in 2018.

Aspen said the outbreak of the coronavirus has resulted in its Chinese commercial team being largely inactive since February, which will inevitably impact performance.

Source: moneyweb.co.za