The company has reduced the processes performed in person at its facilities to a minimum but is keeping all its manufacturing plants in operation, given its responsibility as a drug manufacturer
The company has reduced the processes performed in person at its facilities to a minimum but is keeping all its manufacturing plants in operation, given its responsibility as a drug manufacturer
- ROVI wishes to acknowledge the commitment and responsibility shown by those of its employees who are physically present at work every day and has approved a bonus of 20% of their salary for the duration of the State of Alarm
- ROVI’s sales behaved in line with company’s expectations in the first quarter of 2020. As a consequence, the company confirms the growth forecasts reported previously for 2020. Notwithstanding, it is not yet possible to make a precise assessment of the impact that the pandemic will have on the current year.
- The group is continuing to execute its strategic plan and, to date, the impact of the health crisis has not changed the company’s plans.
- ROVI enjoys a sound financial position and has ample liquidity to meet its payment obligations, debt maturities and any additional cash needs in the short and medium term.
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Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI, S.A. (ROVI) reports that, since the beginning of the spread of Covid-19, the company has been executing the contingency plans necessary to guarantee the health and safety of its employees and those who work with it, as well as to ensure the continuity of the business and fulfil its responsibility to supply medicines to the hospitals of Spain and Europe.
To this end, the company has adopted a number of initiatives in line with the recommendations made by the authorities. Among them, we highlight the fact that ROVI has reduced the processes that must be performed in person at its facilities to a minimum. Thus, a significant part of the workforce is working from a distance. In the cases where home working is not possible, particularly at the manufacturing plants, ROVI is keeping all its production activities at a reasonably normal activity level, with the relevant safety measures, in order to ensure that its medicines continue to be available to patients during the health crisis.
ROVI considers that it is extremely important to keep its manufacturing plants in operation in order to fulfil its responsibility as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Therefore, the company wishes to acknowledge the commitment and responsibility shown by those of its employees who are physically present at work every day and, for these employees, has approved a bonus of 20% of their salary for the duration of the State of Alarm decreed by the Spanish government.
Likewise, in order to work with the greatest safety and maintain the continuity of the production activities, ROVI recommends avoiding the use of public transport for travelling to the plants and assumes the cost of private transport and parking spaces for those employees who so require.
ROVI’s sales behaved in line with the company’s expectations in the first quarter of 2020. As a consequence, the company confirms the growth forecasts reported previously for 2020, which placed growth in operating revenue in mid-single- digit figures. Notwithstanding, given the uncertainties associated to the development of the current situation (which ROVI will continue to monitor closely) and the duration of the State of Alarm, it is not yet possible to make a precise assessment of the impact that the pandemic will have on the current year. ROVI expects the main negative impact on group sales to take place in the second quarter of 2020.
Regarding the possible impact of Covid-19 on each one of the areas of the company, the following may be highlighted:
ROVI enjoys a sound financial position, with net debt of 15.9 million euros and a net debt/EBITDA ratio of 0.26 at the end of 2019. Excluding financial liabilities for leases, ROVI would have had a net cash position of 5.0 million euros at 31 December, 2019. In addition, it has a high cash-generating capacity (54.6 million euros in 2019, excluding working capital), a credit line from the European Investment Bank, drawn down in November 2019, for 40 million euros, and other bank borrowings. Likewise, since the beginning of this crisis, ROVI has signed new credit policies in order to ensure the company’s liquidity. Therefore, the Group held a gross cash position of 68.9 million euros at the end of 2019, to which the new credit policies which it could now draw down for a sum of 45 million euros may be added, giving a total of 113.9 million euros, which furnishes the Group with ample liquidity to meet its payment obligations, debt maturities and any additional cash needs in the short and medium term.
ROVI is continuing with its transformation process and the execution of its strategic plan. To date, the impact of the health crisis has not changed the group’s plans. Said strategic plan focuses on the expansion of its enoxaparin biosimilar, with which it aspires to become a benchmark player in the low-molecular-weight heparin sub-market, and Doria® and Letrozole®, both of which are candidates that validate its extended-release drug delivery system, ISM®.
(Destacado en verde) ROVI is also contributing to the provision of new solutions that help to improve the health situation of society overall and has taken the necessary steps to donate a million surgical masks and a thousand special protection suits to the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare, taking account of the difficulties that the National Health System is having in accessing individual protection equipment at the present time. With this contribution, ROVI wishes to assist in the indispensable work carried out by the health professionals who are working nonstop to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.
ROVI wishes a swift recovery to all those affected by coronavirus and sends special recognition to the health professionals, the State security forces and all the other professionals who, in order to protect all of us, are on the battlefront in the fight against the virus. Likewise, ROVI would like to thank all its employees for their commitment, responsibility, involvement and determination, especially those who continue to travel to its work centres every day.