UDG upgrades full-year earnings forecast and reports strong growth

Healthcare services provider UDG has upgraded its full-year earnings forecast after reporting strong trading for the nine months to the end of June and the impact of recent acquisitions.

In a trading update, the group said taking into account the acquisitions of Vynamic and Cambridge BioMarketing, it was increasing its guidance for constant currency adjusted diluted earnings per share from a range of 15 per cent to 18 per cent previously, to be between 17 per cent and 19 per cent ahead of last year.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Dublin-based provider of services to healthcare manufacturers and pharmacies, has operations in 22 countries.

The company said group trading for its latest quarter and for the nine months to the end of June had been positive with revenue and pretax profits ahead of the same period a year earlier.

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UDG has committed $200 million to the acquisitions of Stem, Sellxpert, Vynamic, Cambridge BioMarketing and a US packaging facility since the start of its financial year.

The group said its healthcare communications business Ashfield is ahead of the same quarter last year with growth across all sections of the business.

Its packaging and printing business Sharp traded in line with the same quarter last year.

Aquilant, another unit which distributes specialist medical, pharmaceutical and scientific products and services, also performed positively with underlying operating profit ahead of the third quarter in the last financial year.

“The group’s strong balance sheet leaves it well positioned to continue executing strategic acquisition opportunities to complement its existing growth platforms and generate good returns,” UDG said.

The company is due to issue full-year results in late November.