Investment drive for Julphar this year

Julphar increased its profits by 1.2 per cent as it invested heavily in the first six months.

The Ras Al Khaimah drug maker Julphar is investing heavily in its plants and processes amid government efforts to drive down the cost of healthcare through a focus on generics.

The manufacturer of generic medicines said that its net profits ticked up 1.2 per cent to Dh118.3 million in the first half of the year as it invested Dh95.5m during the period.

The company spent Dh27.5m on property, plant and equipment additions alone. The company did not respond to requests for interviews. It has 11 factories in the UAE and one in Ethiopia. It is also building new facilities in Saudi Arabia and Algeria, which together cost about US$70 million, according to media reports.

Also known as Gulf Pharmaceuticals, Julphar reported sales of Dh761.77m in the first half, up 9.39 per cent year-on-year.

Its subsidiary Planet Pharmacies had sales of Dh327.3m and net profits of Dh24.3m in the period. Julphar owns 40 per cent of the company, which is a joint venture with Kuwait’s Global Investment House. It has a presence in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman.

During the first half, Julphar had cash of Dh126m, down from Dh188m at the end of six months ending June last year.

The company has discontinued production of medical supplies from its German subsidiary, Julphar Pharma, according to its financial results posted on the Abu Dhabi bourse yesterday. Julphar’s shares closed at Dh3 yesterday, unchanged from last week.

“One of our growth drivers can be attributed to the government’s aiming to reduce the costs of healthcare – generic companies play a great role in helping them achieve this,” said GVG Krishna, Julphar’s chief financial officer.