ASPEN Pharmacare, Africa’s largest generic drugmaker, is considering further acquisition opportunities after international sales boosted profit, outweighing the rising cost of imported materials. “There are a lot of opportunities” for deals, chief executive Stephen Saad said yesterday. “Where we are really well positioned is that we can bring skills to the party. We can fix factories, we can fix operations and we have a good geographical presence.” The company was “looking the hardest” in Asia, he said. Aspen, which supplies medicines in more than 150 countries, has spent in excess of $2 billion (R23.5bn) on acquisitions from drugmakers including GlaxoSmithKline and Merck in the past two years as it expands its portfolio of medicines and manufacturing sites around the world
. Net income climbed 27 percent to R2.46bn in the six months to December, Aspen said. Sales increased 51 percent to R18bn. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for R4.42bn of revenue, compared with the R4.31bn from South Africa. The shares closed up 2.39 percent at R430.01 yesterday. – Bloomberg