North East drug production company Quantum Pharmaceutical said it is focussed on growth after seeing a big rise in revenues and profits in its most recent accounts period.
The company - which is based on the Hobson Industrial Estate in Burnopfield, County Durham, with another site at Follingsby Park in Gateshead - has released accounts for 2022 in which revenues reached 拢118.9m, a growth of 48% on the same period a year earlier. Over the same period, the company鈥檚 operating profit more than quadrupled from 拢1.7m to nearly 拢7.1m.
Quantum is involved in the manufacture and supply of unlicensed medicines, and said investment in production facilities had helped it increase revenues. After growing its workforce by 10 during the year, it said it expected to create more jobs in 2023 and would aim to grow organically and potentially through acquisitions.
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The accounts said: 鈥淭urnover for the year ended December 31 2022 had grown by 48% to 拢118.97m (2021: 拢80.23m). The growth in revenue has been driven by capital investment made in the prior period that increased manufacturing capabilities in the year under review.
鈥淭he gross margin percentage generated by the business has remained consistent year on year at 14.5%, however the overheads of the business have been rationalised to generate operating profit of 拢7.09m (2021: 拢1.66m). Headcount increased by 5% in the year with 218 employees on December 31 2022 (2021: 208). The forthcoming year the business expects to add further headcount.
鈥淭he directors are confident that the capital investment in the year ended December 31 2022 will ensure that the business continues to grow. The directors will continually review opportunities to expand the business organically or through acquisition.鈥
Established in 2004, Quantum grew quickly with backing from investment group LDC and floated in 2014 in a deal that valued the firm at 拢130m. Midlands firm Clinigen bought Quantum for 拢150m in 2017, before it was sold to Target Healthcare, which is based in Glasgow, in 2021.
In its previous accounts - which covered an 18-month period up to the end of 2021 - Quantum had outlined how the Covid pandemic had presented it with 鈥渦nprecedented challenges鈥. But it said that a return to more normal NHS activity and the 鈥渃ombined commercial advantages鈥 of its link-up with Target Healthcare had set it on the path for 鈥渟ignificant growth鈥.
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