Lipa raises funds for expansion
raise A$67 million (€38.2m) from an initial public offering of
shares, which will fund expansion of the company's manufacturing
plant to meet growing customer demand.
Sydney-based Lipa is one of the leading contract manufacturers of complementary healthcare medicines, vitamins and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals in Australia. It has forecast revenues of A$91 million for the year ending June 30, 2005, an increase of 18 per cent on forecast revenues for the current year.
EBITA is set to grow 33.4 per cent on the current year to A$21 million for the year ending June 30, 2005, it said.
Founder and managing director Gorge Jovonov said: "The company has excellent growth prospects, which include generating additional sales from current customers as the market for complementary medicines grows, attracting new customers and broadening the range of dosage forms."
Jovanov also told an AAP report that the company could look at making further headway into the export market. It currently exports to Europe and the US.
"Australian-made products are very well recognised overseas because of the Australian rules and regulations for manufacturing complementary health care products," Jovanov told AAP.
Lipa intends to list on the Australian Stock Exchange next month with an offer of 44.8 million shares.
The market for vitamins and dietary supplements in Australasia is currently worth around US$283 million, according to Datamonitor.
