Financial summary
━ 25% growth in reported revenue to £191.2m (H1 13/14: £153.0m)
━ Operating profit increased to £42.8m (H1 13/14: £25.0m)
━ Profit before tax £37.6m (H1 13/14: £32.7m)
━ Basic EPS 10.8p (H1 13/14: 6.8p)
━ Cash and equivalents at 30/9/14 of £78.0m (30/9/13: £39.8m)
Operating highlights
Interventional Medicine
━ Controlled launch of Varithena® progressing as planned in the US reimbursed sector; first commercial patients treated in August 2014; positive physician feedback
━ EkoSonic® Endovascular System cleared by the FDA to treat pulmonary embolism
━ Direct sales force for TheraSphere® in Europe established; Beads to be sold direct using same sales force from April 2015
━ Accelerating TheraSphere® Phase III trials
━ DC Bead® approved in China for the treatment of malignant hypervascularised tumours
━ Hub established in Hong Kong to support commercial, medical and regulatory activities in Asia
Specialty Pharmaceuticals
━ Strong revenue growth reflecting further value creation in DigiFab® and Voraxaze®
━ Consistent performance from CroFab®
Licensing
━ Increase in royalty revenue driven by strong growth of Zytiga® (abiraterone acetate)
━ FDA decision expected in Q4 2014 on regulatory application for Sanofi/Genzyme's Lemtrada™ (alemtuzumab)
Louise Makin, BTG's CEO, commented: "We have delivered a strong operating and financial performance across the business during the first six months. The businesses we acquired last year are fully delivering and we are investing in multiple growth opportunities across the enlarged portfolio. The controlled US launch of Varithena® is progressing well and initial feedback from physicians is encouraging. Within Interventional Oncology we have established a European direct sales force and expanded our commercial, medical and regulatory activities in Asia. Overall, we are in a good position to deliver our organic growth plans and achieve our 2021 vision for the business while continuing to explore opportunities to expand our portfolio."
