Trinity Biotech reports profits of €41m on back of product line sell-off

By Geoff Percival

Friday, July 30, 2010

MEDICAL test kit provider Trinity Biotech has reported pre-tax profits of $54.2 million (€41.5m) for the first half of the year, up from $6.2m for the same period last year.

The boost in profits came about through the sale of the company’s coagulation product line for $47.4m during the second quarter of the year. The company’s revenue was hit by the removal of that division, with turnover falling from $63.4m at the halfway stage last year to $51.6m this year. The disposal also, however, managed to eradicate the company’s debt and strengthen its cash reserves.

The Wicklow-headquartered company, which makes a range of diagnostics products mainly for the US market and which has its shares listed on the Nasdaq, saw operating profit fall marginally in the second quarter of the year, but increase from $6.9m to $7.2m in the first half of the year as a whole.

A four cent rise in earnings per share, to 30.4c, indicates it is on track to achieve consistent growth, according to chief executive Ronan Ó Caoimh.

"We have shown that without coagulation we’ve been able to continue our growth in profitability. And I can confirm our expectation that earnings will be 100% to 110% of pre-divestiture levels. We have no debt, cash of $3.43 per share, with cash per share increasing at over 5c per month," he said.

Meanwhile, Merrion Pharmaceuticals has announced that its new state-of-the-art facility in Citywest, Dublin, has been approved by the Irish Medicines Board under the EU clinical directive for investigational medicinal products.

Merrion bought the 30,000 square foot facility last year to boost capacity for manufacturing new products and clinical development.

"The granting of this licence is another important milestone for Merrion, as it allows us to manufacture for clinical trials," said Merrion chief executive John Lynch.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, July 30, 2010