Profits and revenues have rocketed at North East medical manufacturer Quantum Pharma on the back of major investments.
The Burnopfield-based business manufactures and supplies unlicensed medicines including everything from liquid preparations, tablets, creams, ointments, lotions and gels to ear drops, nasal drops, capsules, enemas and oral syringes. Since 2021 it has been a subsidiary of the Target Healthcare Group, which acquired it from Clinigen Group in a multimillion-pound deal.
Accounts for 2023 show revenues rose by 47% to £174.8m, while operating profit increased by 140% from £7.08m to £16.99m. The business has two bases, at Burnopfield and Follingsby, and its employee numbers increased by 58 to 276 workers during the year. At the year end total equity stood at £15.4m, up from £4.7m, and ordinary dividends were paid out amounting to £2.35m.
Managing director Lewis Campbell highlighted investments into the company in 2022, which drove up profit and sales in the accounts year. In his report, he said: “Target are a group of companies who are focused on ensuring that patients, no matter their health condition, have access to the medicines they need. The commitment to sourcing medicines applies across unlicensed, generic and branded medicines. The key customers of the business are hospital trusts, pharmaceutical wholesalers and retail pharmacies, located in the United Kingdom.
“The company has experienced another year of strong revenue and operating profit growth. The growth in revenue has been driven by capital investment made in the prior period that increased manufacturing capabilities in the year under review.
“The manufacturing facilities were expanded significantly in 2022 and this has driven the growth in 2023. The directors are confident that the growth trajectory will continue into 2024 as the company has invested further in its manufacturing capabilities.
“Over the course of 2023 there has been significant capital investment in a second site to further support the NHS, this new facility is due to be operational in Q2 2024. Gross profit margin has increased due to the change in the product and customer mix. The directors are always pursuing opportunities to further improve the gross profit of the company.”
The company also mentions its work towards achieving net zero carbon status, adding: “The Target Healthcare Group are committed to net zero. During 2023 the group developed a group of carbon champions and explored opportunities around carbon offsetting. The directors are fully committed to supporting the sustainability objectives of our customers, most notably the NHS who have set the objective of net zero by 2045. Recent initiatives include installation of EV chargers, launch of EV salary sacrifice scheme, and launch of a cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme.”