VIRBAC : Rebound of growth in the last quarter

Public  release - January 16th, 2014

As expected by the Group, this performance is firstly linked to a real rebound of organic growth that started in the third quarter and reached +8.3% in the fourth quarter, with all regions performing better during this last quarter. Recent acquisitions complemented this organic performance, adding another +7.9% growth : Centrovet in Chile (consolidated for only one month in 2012) and Santa Elena in Uruguay, now fully owned and consolidated since last September.  

Total 2013 sales reached 736.1 M?, a +5.9% growth compared to last year (695.2 M?). Real growth at constant parities, as announced, exceeded 10% (+10.7%) but has been largely offset by the very negative variations of foreign exchange rates this year, especially during the second half.
Organic growth represents +2.3% in this performance, with a significant contrast between the first half (-0.5%) and the second half (+5.1%). Overall this relatively low growth has been due to both market dynamics (poor economic environment, unfavourable weather conditions) and factors of slow down specific to Virbac: few product launches this year; decrease of CaniLeish in Europe due to the vaccination protocol requiring only one repeat injection as from the second year; Iverhart Plus temporarily stopped in the US. These last 2 factors had a significant impact, around -3% in total, on organic growth.
The contribution from recent acquisitions (Centrovet in Chile, Stockguard in New Zealand as well as Santa Elena in Uruguay, now fully controlled and consolidated) has been significant and in line with expectations. In particular sales of Centrovet reached 69 M? this year.

From a regional perspective, growth has been mostly driven by emerging markets (Latin America, Asia, India, South Africa). Business in Europe was stable globally but reflects a certain contrast between regions, with a good level of growth in the UK, in Scandinavian and Eastern European countries, offset by a slight decrease in France and Northern Europe and a decline in Southern Europe. In the US, sales were down around 5% as a consequence of the Iverhart Plus withdrawal, while other specialties (dermatology, endocrinology, dentals) generated a strong performance.

Business by species reflects the geographic trends. At constant scope, sales in the companion animals segment remained stable (+0.2%) despite the decrease of CaniLeish and the low market trends in Europe on one hand, and the Iverhart situation in the US on the other hand. Growth in the food producing animals segment reached +5.5%, driven by emerging countries but partially offset by the negative trends observed in Europe and a difficult year in Australia. The Group's development has been similar globally, outside Europe, in the bovine sector and in the industrial sector (swine and poultry), with a growth of above 7%. But the situation remains unfavourable in Europe, with a decrease of around 2% in both sectors.