Annual Report 2012 - Acino

8
ACINO | LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
“Acino follows growth. With the entry
into fast developing emerging economies,
we broadened our geographic exposure
and participate in the pharmaceutical high
growth markets.”
Dividend waiver and creation of authorized capital to fuel growth
and restore financial flexibility
The acquisition of international operations and the site in Aesch (Switzerland) with R&D
and production facilities from Mepha has provided strong impetus to Acino unfolding
promising growth opportunities. Knowledge and innovation skills as well as competitiveness,
and thereby also the ability to generate sustainable profits going forward, have been
significantly strengthened.
Despite the positive 2012 net result, the Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General
Meeting of Shareholders of April 4, 2013, the waiving of a dividend distribution. The Board
of Directors views this as an exceptional measure to reduce debt levels (following the
acquisition) and to fuel the growth of the company. Furthermore, the Board of Directors
proposes the creation of authorized capital by 800 000 new shares with expiration on April
4, 2015. The Board of Directors intends to continue to evaluate selective smaller scale
acquisitions to complement and strengthen the company’s activities and therefore proposes
this financial flexibility to seize potential opportunities.
Growth strategies – propagate success and take it Group-wide
We have identified and focused on a number of organic growth strategies, to be
rounded off by selective acquisitions, to advance our company. We intend to embrace
new opportunities based on our technological expertise and exploit synergies between
the Operating Segments:
Fully exploit product potential. The BtB portfolio consists of in-house developed products
which we out-license to pharmaceutical companies. The BtC portfolio comprises primarily
products acquired from Mepha and Cephalon which we will market under our own brand
“Acino Switzerland” in up and coming economies. Our intention is to exploit the portfolio
potential to its fullest by taking products across Operating Segments.
Expand geographic reach around the globe. Both our BtB and BtC businesses are broadbased
but still leave room for further geographic expansion within the defined strategy.
A milestone in this context was the agreement reached with Medial D&P Ltd. covering
several countries in the CIS region. Further territorial expansion in 2013 is anticipated in
Asia and Latin America. Likewise, we aim at expanding the reach of our BtB business and
have initiated steps to access the USA and Japan.
Foster innovation and broaden the product portfolio. All three business units give high
priority to continuously innovating their offering. The strong development pipeline is
expected to deliver promising products, some with patent protection, which are tailored
to both BtC and BtB markets. As a complementary measure, we are selectively evaluating
and in-licensing products to round off our BtC offering.
Expand the customer base. The strong reputation gained from the cooperation with Bayer
HealthCare and other partners helps the business units Technology Marketing and BtB to
engage in new cooperations and to embark on novel development projects on behalf of
pharmaceutical companies. The commitment to high quality we share with our customers
is a prerequisite in this respect.
Building a strong leadership team
As previously communicated, Dr. Jürgen Betzing, Chief Operations Officer (since February
1, 2012), joined us from Mepha. In this function he is responsible for production, engineering,
the supply chain, logistics, sourcing, and safety and environmental protection at all
sites of the Group.