Lonza reports 8.2% sales growth
Pharma and biotech business contributed to strong performance for the first half of 2018
Lonza has reported 8.2% organic (like-for-like) sales growth in the first half of 2018. The Swiss multinational, chemicals and biotechnology company said that one year after the successful closing of the Capsugel acquisition, total sales amounted to CHF 3.1 billion for the half-year 2018.
On a segment level, Lonza said its Pharma & Biotech business contributed significantly to the strong H1 2018 performance with 14.7% organic sales growth.
"Pharma & Biotech’s Clinical Development & Manufacturing and Commercial Manufacturing services across all technologies and assets continued to build on buoyant demand for Lonza’s offerings along the entire value chain. Within Lonza’s Specialty Ingredients segment, the newly formed Consumer Health division performed extremely well, driven by robust momentum for nutritional ingredients and supplement delivery forms," read the statement.
Richard Ridinger, Lonza CEO, commented: "We look back at a successful first year after acquiring Capsugel and see that integration is progressing better than planned, operational and commercial synergies are starting to materialise and healthcare continuum offerings are becoming even stronger."
He added, "An important part of the successful integration into the Lonza family has been the valuable contribution of Guido Driesen, Capsugel's former CEO, who helped bring together a strong organisation. With integration progressing so well, he is winding down his activities. We are thankful that Guido is prepared to support us even further with his expertise in other projects globally as needed."
Tapping into global markets
Lonza said the Commercial Mammalian and Microbial Manufacturing business continues to benefit from a robust customer base and strong demand, enabling the business to secure additional contracts in the mid- and long-term.
The Portsmouth, NH (US) mid-scale capacity expansion, which was announced with the Q1 Qualitative Business Update, is receiving positive customer interest as expected; the IBEX Solutions program in Visp (CH) and the operationalisation of the Singapore (SG) single-use bioreactor facility are developing as planned.
Lonza is extending its clinical development and manufacturing services in Slough (UK) with new hires; and the transfer of new and existing customers to Lonza’s Hayward, CA (US) site is progressing well. The opening of the world’s largest dedicated cell-and-gene-therapy manufacturing facility in Pearland, Greater Houston, TX (US) in April was well received; the transfer of existing and new customers into the facility is making good progress.
Lonza Pharma & Biotech's small-molecule businesses reported continued operational and commercial improvements. Also firm demand continued for Lonza’s offerings in active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) development and manufacturing for clinical and commercial, as well as in dosage forms and delivery solutions and services to enhance bioavailability and efficacy of drugs.
The hard-capsules business had a robust performance in H1 2018 and is expanding in different regions, with new product offerings and increased customer interest in speciality polymer solutions.
Strong demand for composite materials in Consumer & Resources Protection from the aerospace and electronics industries continues, and momentum for microbial control solutions in industrial applications is ongoing. This division delivered CHF 678 million sales for the Half-Year 2018 (1.3% growth on a reported basis).
Based on the strong Half-Year 2018 results, Lonza upgraded its sales outlook for Full-Year 2018 to mid- to high-single-digit growth on a comparable basis.