Annual Report 2018 in Memoriam Anders Lönner
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Annual Report 2018 In memoriam Anders Lönner KARO PHARMA’S EXECUTIVE icant work for Swedish pharma- CHAIRMAN ANDERS LÖNNER died ceutical research, the Swedish suddenly on 30 November 2018 pharmaceutical industry and at the age of 73. On 23 May 2014, Swedish society generally. he was awarded an honorary As a business leader, Anders’ doctorate in medicine by the approach was highly analyt- Karolinska Institute, with the ical and strategic, qualities citation reading: “through his that were the foundation of entrepreneurship, Anders Lönner his professional decisions. His has been highly significant decisions were also based on to Swedish pharmaceutical In 2014, Anders was awarded an honorary doctorate exceptional judgement and in medicine from the Karolinska Institute, for his sig- research, the Swedish pharma- nificant work for Swedish pharmaceutical research, in-depth experience. As an ceutical industry and Swedish the Swedish pharmaceutical industry and Swedish entrepreneur, he was charac- society generally. society generally.” terized by efficient simplicity, Anders enjoyed a long and successful career in the and he disliked unnecessary bureaucracy. pharmaceutical industry, firstly with Astra AB and Anders was also a master of negotiation, driven by more recently Meda AB. Anders transformed Meda reaching his objective. Rather than get caught up in from a small, local distribution enterprise into a highly the detail, he concentrated on achieving success. successful global specialty pharma company. As By 2018, Anders and the Board of Directors realized Meda’s CEO, Anders created substantial values for the that Karo Pharma’s existing structure was inadequate company’s shareholders, and a great environment for to execute its continued expansion strategy, of creat- the company’s people. Anders gained recognition for ing a substantial specialty pharma company through his successes with Meda from several sources includ- acquisitions. It needed a strong, solid principal share- ing Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg’s foundations. In holder to execute this. Accordingly, the Board of Direc- 2012 he was Sweden’s winner of the Ernst & Young tors supports a takeover bid representing significant Global Entrepreneur of the Year award, one of the recognition of the value created. world’s most prestigious for successful entrepreneurs. Anders was eager to point out that he was a typically In 2014, Anders commenced the transformation of thrifty native of the Swedish province of Småland. He the then Karo Bio from a loss-making biotech company detested unnecessary expenditure and costs, although into a profitable specialty pharma corporation, chang- fundamentally, was a truly generous individual. Opera- ing its name to Karo Pharma AB. In a brief period, he tion Smile is one of the charities that Anders and Karo structured the company, closed down its research unit Pharma supported. and executed a series of successful acquisitions. Karo Anders’ sudden and premature departure is a cause Pharma AB’s transformation was dramatic—by 2018, of great sorrow to all of us. sales were some SEK 1.6 billion, and earnings were SEK 632 m. In 2014, Anders was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine from the Karolinska Institute, for his signif- Håkan Åström and the Board Tel +46(0)10 330 2310 [email protected], www.karopharma.com Address: Nybrokajen 7, 111 48 Stockholm, Sweden CONTENTS BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS IN 2018 KARO PHARMA IN BRIEF INVITATION TO ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Karo Pharma AB Interim Report Jan–Mar 26 April 2019 Business highlights in 2018 ... Inside front cover Integrating Weifa Total sales by product segment (publ) will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, 16 May 2019 at Interim Report Jan–Jun 19 July 2019 Karo Pharma in brief ................ Inside front cover Weifa was integrated into Karo Pharma AS in the 2018 2017 Näringslivets Hus, Storgatan 19, Stockholm, Sweden. The Interim Report Jan–Sep 1 November 2019 first quarter, a process that consolidated Karo Other health Other health convening notice for the AGM will be published on Karo Financial Statement 2019 14 February 2020 Pharma’s Nordic business, and brought strong CEO’s statement ......................................................3 products Rx products Rx Pharma’s website, www.karopharma.com positioning on the Norwegian market. Karo Pharma 29.6% 46.3% 54.7% 35.3% Market ........................................................................4 is now one of Norway’s leading pharmaceutical Shareholders that are firstly recorded in the share Financial reports, press releases, convening notices for companies, especially in pain relief. Profitability SEK M SEK M register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Friday, shareholders’ meetings and other information are available Karo Pharma in four points ...................................8 in Norway improved in the year, and the company 27 April 2019, and secondly by no later than 27 April 2019 at Karo Pharma’s website www.karopharma.com from pub- Human resources ....................................................9 sees several synergies in sales and marketing going at 4 p.m., have notified Karo Pharma of their participation, lication. forward. The rights issue executed to part-fund 658 1,615 are entitled to participate in the AGM. Karo Pharma’s financial reports and press releases can be New products ........................................................ 10 Weifa was completed in January. Notice of participation in the AGM should be in writing subscribed and downloaded from its website. Karo Pharma Karo Pharma’s product range ............................ 12 OTC OTC with name, personal/corporate identity number, address, utilizes electronic distribution as its main channel for 24.1% 10.0% e-mail address and phone number to the following mail financial reports. The Annual Report will be mailed to those Development projects ......................................... 14 LEO product portfolio acquired address: Karo Pharma AB, FAO: Mats-Olof Wallin, Nybro- shareholders and other stakeholders that so request. Hard Karo Pharma acquired the LEO portfolio of ten Comment: In recent years, the company has sharpened its focus on prescription pharmaceuticals (Rx) and over- Karo Pharma in the community ........................ 15 established pharmaceutical products, mainly in the-counter products (OTC) sold to consumers by pharmacies and retailers. kajen 7, 111 48 Stockholm, Sweden, or by email to: copy interim reports can be sent by mail on request. [email protected]. Share and shareholders ...................................... 16 the therapy areas of infection, cardiovascular and dermatology. This transaction means Karo Pharma For entitlement to participate in the Meeting, share- For more information, please contact Mats-Olof Wallin, Statutory Administration Report ....................... 20 has advanced its positioning further in the Nordics, holders with nominee-registered holdings with bank trust CFO on tel: +46 (0)76 002 6010, or email: and established operations in Europe. Net sales and EBITDA, 2015–2018 SEK m departments or other managers, must temporarily register [email protected] Financial statements ........................................... 28 1,800 their shares in their own name. Such registration must be Accounting policies .............................................. 33 1,615.1 A stronger organization 1,600 complete by no later than Friday 3 May, which means the shareholder must inform their nominee in good time prior Notes ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 40 Karo Pharma consolidated its marketing resources 1,400 to this date. and regulatory resources. It also incorporated Five-year summary .............................................. 58 subsidiaries in Denmark and Finland. 1,200 Audit Report ........................................................... 59 1,000 Corporate Governance Report ........................... 64 Milestone payments from Pfizer Board of Directors ................................................ 70 Karo Pharma received two milestone payments 800 corresponding to USD 10 m for the ROR-gamma 657.6 632.2 Management ......................................................... 71 project. 600 Sustainability Report ........................................... 72 400 347.347 3 Invitation to New product launch 169.3 200 Annual General Meeting �������������Inside rear cover Karo Pharma launched Viruseptin—its new product 69.1 41.2 51.7 for cold and flu-like symptoms. 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 ■ Net sales ■ EBITDA A sharper focus Karo Pharma took a decision to sharpen its focus Key indicators on pharmaceuticals, which will represent more than SEK m 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 80% of the company’s sales in the coming years. This brings the company good potential to keep Net sales 1,615.1 657.6 347.3 69.1 30.1 improving profitability. Cost of goods sold –676.3 –315.7 –198.5 –40.5 – Operating expenses –541.8 –262.0 –119.2 –103.5 –89.5 of which R&D expenses –0.6 –4.4 –5.3 –35.0 –68.6 Takeover bid EBITDA 632.2 169.3 51.7 41.2 – EQT VIII made a friendly takeover bid to Earnings per share (SEK) 4.63 0.17 1.59 –1.73 –0.09 shareholders. Cash flow from operating activities 318.0 33.5 –36.11) –52.2 –46.3 Cash and cash equivalents and other investments in securities, etc. 398.6 838.6 121.3 76.5 51.6 NMÄ NE RK A E V T S Trycksak Production: Springtime-Intellecta and Karo Pharma. Images: Jann Lipka, Johnér Bildbyrå