NYCOMED AMERSH 866825 - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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http://www.boerseninfos.de/ak/st/866825st.html
http://www.apbiotech.com/germany/

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Amersham veröffenlicht stabile Jahreszahlen 2001


Dienstag, 26. Februar 2002 11:36




Amersham (LSE: AHS) hat am Dienstag bekannt gegeben; dass die Gewinne am oberen Ende der Markterwartungen angesiedelt seien. Darüber hinaus hat man den langjährigen Patentstreit mit Applied Biosystems Inc. beigelegt.

Der Vorsteuergewinn im Geschäftsjahr 2001 verbesserte sich von 231,2 Mio. Pfund aus dem Vorjahr auf 279,4 Mio. Pfund und befindet sich somit am oberen Ende der Analystenschätzungen, die mit 255 Mio. bis 280 Mio. Pfund gerechnet hatten.

Die Absätze verbesserten sich von 1,378 Mrd. auf 1,602 Mrd. Pfund sowie die Dividende von 6,4 auf 7,1 Pence.

CEO Sir William Castel erklärte, dass die Beseitigung des Rechtsstreits mit Applied Biosystems die Spannen in der Amersham Biosciences-Division im kommenden Jahr verbessern soll. Die aktuellen Produkte beider Unternehmen werden nach wie vor angeboten, wobei finanzielle Details nicht bekannt wurden.

Die Verkäufe der Amersham Health-Division stiegen um dreizehn Prozent auf 922 Mio. Pfund, währen die Bioscience-Division um zwölf Prozent auf 981 Mio. Pfund zulegte. Angetrieben von neuen Produkten, verbesserten sich die Medikamenten-Verkäufe der Gesellschaft um neun Prozent auf 160 Mio. Pfund. Der betriebliche Cash-flow von Amersham stieg um 87 Mio. Pfund auf 342 Mio. Pfund.

Die Aktien gewannen zuletzt in London um 1,41 Prozent auf 691 Pence.

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leider sehr schwer an infos zu kommen.
bin für jeder beitrag dankbar.

durch ein bekannte der bei eine marktforschungsfirma arbeitet bin ich auf amersham aufmeksamm geworden.
von der medizinische sicht wird amershem sich in den nächten drei bis viel jahre vedoppel.

unter die profis ist amersham der lieferant nr.1. in beriech proteinereinigung.
zweite stichwort: chromatografie.

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Amersham rules out life sciences float
By Geoff Dyer
Published: February 26 2002 07:48 | Last Updated: February 26 2002 19:32



Amersham virtually ruled out the flotation of its life sciences division on Tuesday as it recorded a stronger-than-expected increase in profits for 2001.

The healthcare group has also reached a settlement in its long-standing court case with Applied Biosystems of the US over patents for technology used to map the human genome.

After first announcing plans to float a stake in August 2000, the group had delayed the operation because of falling biotechnology share prices.

Sir William Castell, chief executive, said the flotation was now "unlikely".

Amersham has an option that will allow it to buy the 45 per cent stake in the division owned by Pharmacia, the US-based pharmaceuticals group, from January 2004. Pharmacia will be free to sell its stake after April this year.

"The timescale is moving closer towards the call option," Sir William said.

Terms of the settlement with Applied Biosystems were not revealed. However, Amersham said it more than covered its $30m legal costs. Payments from Applied Biosystems would help boost margins at the life sciences division by 2 per cent this year.

Profits at life sciences, which provides products for gene and protein analysis, rose 6 per cent to £72m ($102.6m) on sales 12 per cent higher at £681m.

The separations unit, which produces systems for manufacturing proteins, increased profits to £96m (£67m), while the drug discovery unit made an operating loss of £47m, against losses of £35m in 2000.

The healthcare division, which supplies materials for diagnosis, lifted profits by 10 per cent to £241m and sales by 13 per cent to £922m. Sales of patented products rose 25 per cent to £299m.

For the group, pre-tax profits in 2001 were sharply higher at £314.3m (£193.5m restated), after exceptional gains of £46.6m (charges of £27m), on sales of £1.6bn (£1.38bn). Earnings were 33.9p (17.6p). el,-9.5

el,-9.5 endrule Two years ago, Amersham looked a bit lopsided. It had one division selling tools for the genomics revolution and talking about an IPO, while its imaging business looked lacklustre. Now that healthcare is producing strong results, it is the life sciences business that is disappointing a bit on margins, even if on Tuesday`s court settlement will provide a boost. Given the low debt level and the cash generated by the imaging side, many investors would now like to see it buy out Pharmacia`s stake by 2004. In the meantime, the strong run over the past year have left the shares, up 6 per cent to 722p on Tuesday, looking fully valued. On earnings of 29p this year, they are on a forward p/e of 25, a slight premium to the sector.

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Stock tips from the British press



Keep holding on to BAT shares
Wait and see with BT Group, buy Amersham By Friedel Rother FT Investor, 10:40 GMT Feb 27, 2002


Amersham [AHM, News, Chart, Research]. "Not cheap, but worth hanging on to." Full text

Amersham [AHM, News, Chart, Research]. "It should be a core holding in a portfolio of blue chips." Full text


Amersham [AHM, News, Chart, Research]. "Amersham is expected to make about £310 million of pre-tax profits this year. This puts the shares on an earnings multiple of about 25 times. This is a racy rating, but not one which is excessive for a firm with Amersham`s potential. Buy." Full text

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Ananova :



STOCKWATCH Amersham seen firm; Morgan Stanley ups to `overweight`, target 800p

Shares in Amersham PLC were seen higher in early blue chip trade this morning following news of an upgrade in stance by Morgan Stanley as it resumed coverage on the health and biosciences firm, dealers said.

The US broker said, following the recent completion of Amersham`s purchase of Pharmacia Corp`s 45% stake in Amersham Biosciences, it has resumed coverage of the UK firm with an upgrade to `overweight` and an increased price target of 800 pence.

Morgan Stanley said it has also hiked its growth rate for Amersham to 15% from 13% to reflect the benefits of the biosciences deal, and has raised its price target despite underperformance of the peer group.

The broker added that, in its view, the Amersham Biosciences mop-up will clarify the outlook for the business.

Morgan Stanley pointed out that at the same time group taxation for Amersham will be positively affected, hence the growth rate of group earnings will rise at the pretax level as well.

In pre-open blue chip trade, Amersham shares were indicated 14-1/2 pence higher at 746-1/2.

© AFX News

Story filed: 08:00 Tuesday 26th March 2002

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Amersham: Equal Weight

24.09.2002 11:51:06

Das Analystenhaus Lehman Brothers stuft die Aktie des Konsumgüterunternehmens Amersham mit „Equal Weight“ ein.
Die Analysten gehen davon aus, dass die Auftragsbücher der Separationssparte voll seien. Damit zeichne sich eine sehr gute Entwicklung im vierten Quartal ab. Da sich der Aufschwung aber auf das vierte Quartal konzentriere, werde das dritte Quartal wohl schlechter als erwartet ausfallen. Die Separationssparte produziere im Moment an der Kapazitätsgrenze. Neue Produktionsstätten seien aber noch nicht geplant, doch würde es die Analysten nicht überraschen, sollte dies noch kommen.

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Amersham Extension Opened In Cork
26/09/03: Minister for Health Micheál Martin, has officially opened the €16.5m expansion to Amersham Health’s pharmaceutical production facility in Carrigtohill, Co Cork


The 50,000 sq ft expansion has resulted in a doubling of the workforce to over 300 employees and an increase in production from 8 million to over 30 million units of diagnostic imaging agents used to detect and identify diseases.

Martin said: "Since 1993 Amersham Health played a significant role in the development of this area. This latest expansion enhances the role of the Irish company as a manufacturing centre of excellence and confirms the strategic importance of the Cork facility as a centre for higher value manufacturing within the corporate structure.

“It represents a success for the IDA strategy of pursuing higher value activities and better paid jobs, continued embedding of overseas companies in the Irish economy and the promotion of sustainable long-term development".

John Padfield, chief executive of Amersham Health and a director of Amersham plc, said: "Today’s opening marks a major milestone for Amersham Health and for our operations here in Carrigtohill.

“The expansion is a crucial part of our programme to develop our global supply chain. The pharmaceutical products that we manufacture here will be used throughout the world to enable the early and accurate diagnosis of disease and the most appropriate treatment to be applied."

The Carrigtohill facility was established in 1992 on the IDA Industrial Estate by Nycomed ASA of Norway, which merged in 1997 with Amersham International and now trades as Amersham plc.

A range of non-ionic X-ray and MRI pharmaceutical products are manufactured and packaged at the facility and distributed throughout the world.

The expanded facility now occupies over 100,000 sq ft and has over 300 staff compared to 15 in 1993 when production first began.

The additional filling line and distribution/warehousing will increase staff numbers by a further 50 to 60. (26/09/02)

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Amersham MYOVIEW approved for breast cancer screening in 12 European countries

Amersham PLC said that its radiopharmaceutical imaging agent MYOVIEW has been approved for use in breast cancer screening in 12 European countries.

MYOVIEW is used in initial assessments of malignancy in suspected breast cancer cases, where inconclusive results have been achieved from mammography and other tests.

Amersham said MYOVIEW is its second largest selling product and is already well established in cardiology, where it is used to diagnose heart disease by visualising blood flow to the heart muscle.

"MYOVIEW is an important new weapon in the fight against breast cancer. It is convenient, painless and improves the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis in more difficult cases," Daniel L Peters, President of Amersham Health`s Medical Diagnostics said.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in the 35-54 year age bracket.

© AFX News


Story filed: 14:39 Tuesday 8th October 2002

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Amersham MYOVIEW genehmigte für Brustkrebssiebung in 12 europäischen Ländern Amersham PLC sagte, daß sein radiopharmazeutisches Belichtung Mittel MYOVIEW für Gebrauch in der Brustkrebssiebung in 12 europäischen Ländern genehmigt worden ist. MYOVIEW wird in den Ausgangseinschätzungen von malignancy in vermuteten Brustkrebskästen verwendet, in denen ergebnislose Resultate vom mammography und von anderen Tests erzielt worden sind. Amersham besagtes MYOVIEW ist sein zweites größtes verkaufendes Produkt und ist bereits in der Kardiologie gut eingerichtet, in der es verwendet wird, um Herzkrankheit zu bestimmen, indem man Blutfluß zum Herzmuskel sichtbar macht. "MYOVIEW ist eine wichtige neue Waffe im Kampf gegen Brustkrebs. Es ist bequem schmerzlos, und verbessert die Genauigkeit der Brustkrebsdiagnose in den schwierigeren Fällen, "Daniel L Peters, Präsident der medizinischen gesagten Diagnose der Amersham Gesundheit. Brustkrebs ist die allgemeinste Form des Krebses unter Frauen in der Altersklasse des Jahres 35-54. © AFX Nachrichten Geschichte ordnete ein: 14:39 Dienstag Oktober 8. 2002

Maschinelle Übersetzung.

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Ananova:

Amersham names Peter Loescher president of Amersham Health unit

Amersham PLC named Peter Loescher as president of its Amersham Health unit and an executive member of the Amersham PLC board.

Loescher will succeed Dr John Padfield, chief Executive of Amersham Health and executive board member of Amersham since 1999, who is retiring at the end of the year following Sir William Castell`s agreement to continue in his role as Amersham`s chief executive.

Peter Loescher is currently chairman & CEO of Aventis Pharma Japan.

Loescher joined Hoechst AG in 1988 and undertook a wide variety of roles at Hoechst and its successor company Aventis.

In 1999 he was appointed president and chief executive officer of Aventis Pharma in Japan and was named chairman of the Japanese business in 2001.

© AFX News


Story filed: 14:34 Wednesday 9th October 2002

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Ananova:

Amersham in Metastron promotion deal with UK`s Link Pharmaceuticals

Amersham PLC unit Amersham Health said it has signed an agreement with UK independent hospital specialist sales and marketing group Link Pharmaceuticals to sell and market its prostate cancer pain treatment Metastron.

Metastron is an injectable radiopharmaceutical, providing an alternative to beam radiotherapy for the relief of bone pain in patients suffering from certain types of cancer - namely prostate and breast - which have spread to the bone.

A single injection of Metastron can result in a significant reduction in pain for up to six months, without the disorientation and drowsiness associated with other types of pain relief.

In the UK, prostate cancer has the second highest cancer incidence in men after lung cancer, with almost 23,000 new cases annually.

© AFX News


Story filed: 12:47 Thursday 10th October 2002

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Amersham encouraged by strong demand

Amersham is sticking to its full-year targets after seeing continued strong demand for its leading products.

Chief executive Sir William Castell says the group remains "on track" despite slow growth in its toughest market, Japan.

Sales at constant exchange rates rose 7% to £378 million in the third quarter.

Sir William says: "This is a good performance which reflects the breadth of our product offering and the strength of our market positions."

Amersham makes drug discovery systems and dyes used in scans and X-rays to help trace and diagnose diseases in the body.

The group says sales of its diagnostic products are up 7% as orders for higher margin goods offset a slump in Japan.

Amersham`s success in the Japanese market has suffered from government-enforced price cuts introduced earlier this year.

Sales of the group`s drug discovery systems also rose 7% on the back of increasing demand for protein separations.

Patented products continued to sell well with sales of the group`s patented diagnostic products up 24% in the quarter.

Amersham`s shares suffered in April when it warned there was a more cautious approach to spending in the pharmaceutical sector.

Analysts expect profits for 2002 to hit £300 million. The group`s shares, up 14% in the past four months, are currently up 5.5p at 526.5p.


Story filed: 09:03 Monday 28th October 2002

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Amersham: Umsatzsteigerung im dritten Quartal


Montag, 28. Oktober 2002 09:51


Der Pharmakonzern Amersham plc. (London: AHM) (NYSE:AHM) gab heute seine Ergebnisse für das dritte Quartal 2002 bekannt. Demnach ist es dem Konzern gelungen den Absatz aufgrund des starken Wachstums in beiden Segmenten Gesundheit und Biochemie um 7% von 367 Mio. Pfund im Vorjahresquartal auf 378 Mio. Pfund zu steigern.

Der Bereich Gesundheit mit Sitz in England steigerte seinen Absatz von 216 Mio. Pfund im Vorjahresquartal auf 222 Mio. Pfund, während man im Bereich Biochemie einen Steigerung von 151 Mio. Pfund auf 156 Mio. Pfund erreichen konnte.

Im Neun-Monats-Vergleich konnte der Konzern seinen Absatz von 1,150 Mio. Pfund in der Vorjahresperiode auf 1,190 Mio. Pfund steigern. Dies entspricht wiederum einem Wachstum von 7%.

Die Aktien der Amersham plc. verloren heute morgen in London 0,96% auf 519p, wobei die Papiere in New York um 0,79% auf 40,92 US-Dollar stiegen.

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Every Single Second, an Amersham Health Product is Used for ... Alle Nachrichten

02.12. / 17:33

Amersham Health, a global leader in medical diagnostic imaging and a business of Amersham plc , today unveiled a new company identity campaign that focuses on the company``s wide range of products for multiple imaging modalities. Called "Every Single Second ... " the campaign illustrates that every second, somewhere in the world, a patient has a procedure using an Amersham Health product to diagnose a cardiovascular, oncological, or neurological disorder or disease. The identity campaign was officially launched at the prestigious 88th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), which is being held this week in Chicago.

"At Amersham Health, we are proud that every single second one of our products is used around the world to make a difference in a person``s life. Physicians and technologists rely on our products to assist them in early, accurate diagnosis and to provide the information they need to determine the most effective treatment," said Daniel L. Peters, President of Amersham Health``s Medical Diagnostics business worldwide.

"As a world leader in in vivo imaging products, we are committed to helping the health care community diagnose disease, providing answers that will bring us closer to our goal of personalized medicine. We strive for the right treatment, prescribed for the right patient, at the right time with the right outcome," added Mr. Peters.

The Amersham Health family of medical diagnostic products includes: Omnipaque(R) (iohexol) Visipaque(R) (iodixanol) Omniscan(R) (gadodiamide) Teslascan(R) (mangafodipir trisodium) Myoview(TM) (technetium Tc-99m tetrofosmin) Ceretec(TM) (technetium Tc-99m exametazime) Indium-Oxine (indium In-111 Oxyquinoline Solution) Optison(R) (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microspheres for Injection, USP) The Amersham Health family of therapeutic products includes: EchoSeed(TM) (iodine- 125 Seeds) OncoSeed(TM) (iodine-125 Seeds) RAPID Strand(TM) (Rigid Absorbable Permanent Implant Device I-125 seeds) TheraSeed(R) (palladium-103 prostate brachytherapy seed) Metastron(R) (strontium-89 chloride injection) About Amersham Health

Amersham Health, a business of Amersham plc is the leading global research-based pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic imaging products and services. Amersham Health is dedicated to providing health care professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. Amersham Health is committed to finding innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions with a focus on cardiology, neurology and oncology.

About Amersham plc

Amersham plc is a world leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences. Headquartered in the UK, the company had annual sales of 1.6 billion pounds sterling (approximately US $2.3 billion) in 2001 and around 9,500 employees worldwide. Its strategy is to build its position as a leading provider of products and technologies enabling disease to be better understood, diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively.

Amersham -- bringing vision to medical discovery.

For additional information and full prescribing information, visit the Amersham Health Web site at http://www.amershamhealth.com/ or the Amersham plc corporate Web site at http://www.amersham.com/ .

[EDITOR``S ADVISORY: Amersham Health news releases are available free of charge through PR Newswire``s News On-Call at http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/100407.html or on the company Web site: http://www.amershamhealth.com/. For a menu of previous releases, or to receive a specific release, visit the company Web site.]

Make Your Opinion Count - Click Here

© PR Newswire

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Amersham: Overweight
22.01.2003 14:59:03
Die Analysten von Morgan Stanley stufen in ihrem heutigen Bericht die Aktie von Amersham mit “Overweight“ ein.
Das Unternehmen werde seine Ergebnisse für 2002 am 26. Februar bekannt geben. Die Analysten erwarten, dass die Gewinne den Prognosen entsprechen, jedoch könnten die Umsätze im Bereich „Biosciences“ leicht schwächer ausfallen. Ins Bewertungsmodell habe man eine Abschlagsrate von 9% und eine Wachstumsrate von 4% einfließen lassen, was letztendlich zu einem Kursziel von 750 Pence führe.

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Forex jitters cloud UK Amersham after solid 2002
2003-02-23 04:58:06 EST

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Britain`s biggest healthcare firm, Amersham Plc , is expected to post solid 2002 results on Wednesday, but analysts are concerned a slide in the U.S. dollar and yen could make life tougher this year.

Amersham, which makes dyes to improve picture quality in medical scans and equipment to research and manufacture drugs, makes around two thirds of its sales in North America and Japan, where currencies have been falling in value.

For 2002, analysts expect sales and profit growth in line with company guidance, but slower than in 2001 as both its traditional diagnostics business, Amersham Health, and the more frontier research unit, Amersham Biosciences, grapple with challenges.

Profit before tax and goodwill is expected to rise to 301.0 310.9 million pounds ($480-496 million) for 2002 from 279.4 million in 2001, according to eight analysts polled by Reuters. Earnings per share are forecast at 28.9-29.7 pence from 27.2p.

Amersham Health, whose dyes are used to make a medical diagnosis somewhere in the world every two seconds, is generally underpinned by ageing populations and technological advances.

But the business was hit in 2002 by government-imposed price cuts in Japan and tough competition in radiotherapy markets.

Meanwhile Amersham Biosciences, which Amersham now owns in full after buying Pharmacia`s 45 percent stake last March, has seen good demand for its proteins-purification products thanks to the growing number of biopharmaceutical drugs on the market and in development.

But its drug-discovery business has suffered from a reluctance among pharmaceutical firms and research institutes to make big purchases in the current economic downturn.

U.S. rival Applied Biosystems said last month that spending by drug companies remained unpredictable, while the U.S. National Institute of Health research body said in February it was increasing its 2004 budget by only 1.8 percent, following increases of 15 percent over the previous few years.

However, drug discovery only accounts for about a quarter of Amersham sales and analysts say the bad news is already factored into Amersham`s share price.

The shares have lagged the FTSE-100 index of UK leading shares <.FTSE> by six percent since the start of this year. They closed at 483-1/2p on Friday, valuing the business at about 3.4 billion pounds.

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Amersham to axe 400 jobs after drop in sales
By Stephen Foley
27 February 2003


Amersham, the FTSE 100 company which makes machines and products for use in science laboratories, is to axe 400 jobs after a slide in sales to drug companies.

Sir William Castell, the chief executive, said he had decided to wield the knife after big pharmaceuticals companies and biotech firms cut orders in the last few months of 2002.

Up to 120 UK jobs will go as part of the restructuring of the "discovery systems" division, mainly at Amersham`s main research centre in Buckinghamshire.

Big Pharma`s earnings have come under pressure as governments have attempted to drive down drug prices, while biotechs have lacked the funds to invest.

Andrew Carr, the head of Amersham Biosciences, which includes the stricken division, said: "Pharmaceuticals companies had a knockback in 2002. They are being cautious in their spending, and are thinking very hard before purchasing anything costing more than £50,000.

"A few years ago, biotech companies were being founded with an investment of £30m and then coming to us to buy instruments. That`s not happening now."

The discovery systems business lost £32m last year, up from £24m in 2001. Amersham says the job cuts will cost £50m, but save it £35m a year and get the division to break even next year.

Amersham only took full control of its biosciences division last year when it bought out its junior partner Pharmacia for £700m. The job losses will be spread across research, sales and manufacturing, where the company will close several sites in the US. The discovery systems business currently employs 2,700 out of a group total of 10,200.

Amersham`s group-wide profit was £263.7m, compared with £314.3m the previous year, which had been boosted by disposals. Sales were up 7 per cent because of strong growth in other areas of the business.

But the shares fell 15p to 459p after Sir William said the weakness of the dollar could knock £30m from reported profits in 2003.

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February 27, 2003

Tempus by Russell Hotten

Amersham remains healthy



SHARES in Amersham tumbled back towards their 12-month lows despite a set of full-year figures that hit forecasts. The problem was that the nation’s biggest healthcare group announced that it is making a bigger than expected provision this year for the weaker dollar and yen. Unfortunately, the news overshadowed what was a pretty sound set of numbers. Certainly they showed that much of the company’s operations are in a robust state, with sales at Amersham Health, which brings in more than half of turnover, increasing a respectable 8 per cent.
It is also good to see that the company is trying to address some worrying problems at the discovery systems division of the Bioscience operation. It is the underperformance of this operation that has been the main reason for the poor showing of Amersham’s shares relative to the healthcare sector in the past 12 months. The problem here has been that sales of gene-sequencing and other machines have been held back by the squeeze on R&D budgets across the pharmaceutical sector, and that has led to a fall in sales and a widening of operating losses at discovery systems unit.

The operation is being overhauled, with the closure of a handful of manufacturing and R&D sites and loss of about 400 jobs. The restructuring cost of £50 million will be offset in the long term by annual savings of £35 million that will hopefully move discovery systems into the black by the end of 2004. Clearly, Amersham’s efforts to turn around the discovery systems unit have failed so far. Management had hoped to produce a 2 per cent improvement in margins in 2002, but managed just a 0.5 per cent increase. In the company’s defence, though, it only took full control of Biosciences in the middle of last year, so has only recently been able to impose necessary cost-savings.

Amersham offers exposure to a diverse array of businesses, including medical imaging, genomics, proteomics and protein separations. Analysts predict that the company’s earnings will increase by about 11 per cent this year, which is about 3 per cent faster than the sector average.

The shares, meanwhile, look comparatively cheap at 14.7 times forecast 2003 earnings per share, against a sector average of about 15.5. If Amersham successfully breathes life back into the discovery systems unit it will emerge a low-risk gateway to the biotechnology revolution. It is a risk, but Amersham has a history of delivering on its promises. Buy.

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Amersham "buy," estimates cut

02/27/2003
Merrill Lynch

NEW YORK, February 27 (New Ratings) — Analyst Erica Whittaker of Merrill Lynch reiterates her “buy” rating on Amersham. The target price is set 585p.

The analyst mentions that Amersham has reported better-than-expected 2002 earnings, driven by lower interest expenses and tax rates. The EPS estimate for 2003 has, however, been reduced from 32.7p to 29.8p, in view of the persisting negative impact of currency trends on top-line growth, says the analyst.

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February 28, 2003

Stock Markets by Nick Hasell

Amersham at a low on exchange rate worries



SHARES in Amersham fell to a low as analysts suggested that an anticipated £30 million currency hit at the life sciences group will virtually wipe out any profit growth this year.
Wednesday’s preliminaries from Amersham were marred by its move to cut 400 jobs in its laboratory equipment division, which will prompt a one-off charge of up to £50 million. But followers also expressed disappointment at lighter than expected sales owing to adverse currency movements.

Attention turned to the current-year numbers yesterday, however, as analysts cut their profit forecasts in the belief that foreign exchange factors will also weigh heavily on 2003. Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs both believe that high currency transaction exposure, which stems from Amersham’s bias towards manufacturing in Scandinavia and selling in the US, could leave a £30 million hole in the bottom line, cancelling out nearly all of the anticipated growth in profits in 2003.

Credit Suisse First Boston also cited currency losses as a factor in reducing its 2003 and 2004 profit forecasts by between 4-5 per cent, although it is also concerned by a worsening outlook for discovery systems, the operation affected by the job losses. Amersham settled 35p lower at 424p, the biggest fall in the FTSE 100.

The wider market endured a volatile session, with dealers guessing at the identity of the heavy seller of the FTSE 100 future, where 90,000 contracts changed hands, against a typical daily average of 50,000. The activity is thought to have been because of a life insurer hedging its positions in the over-the-counter options market to protect the value of its underlying equity portfolio. The FTSE 100 changed directions several times in the course of the day but came to rest 23.4 points lighter at 3,569.9.

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BUSINESS NEWS March 4, 2003



Amersham gets FDA approval for new use of Myoview
2003-03-03 15:22:25 EST

CHICAGO, March 3 (Reuters) - Amersham Plc , Britain`s biggest health care firm, said on Monday it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a new use of Myoview, a special radioactive tracer that helps doctors get a better view of the heart.

Bill Clarke, executive vice president of research and development, in an interview said Amersham on Friday received FDA approval for the use of Myoview to help image left ventricular heart function.

Myoview currently is used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate blood flow to the heart. The new indication will measure how efficiently blood is ejected from the left ventricle and the motion of the heart wall, helping doctors evaluate heart disease.

The product had sales last year of about $215 million, said Tracy Cheung, an Amersham spokeswoman. Myoview competes with Bristol-Myers Squibb`s Cardiolite.

Both products are radioactive tracers used in heart scans.

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Amersham: Equal Weight
14.03.2003 13:58:01
Die Analysten von Lehman Brothers stufen in ihrer heutigen Analyse die Aktie von Amersham unverändert mit „Equal Weight“ ein.
Nach den Zahlen für das Geschäftsjahr 2002 und dem bekannt gegebenen Restrukturierungsprogramm für Discovery Systems, sei der Aktienkurs von Amersham stark gefallen. Die Analysten sehen die Aktie als überverkauft und empfehlen sie als eine kurzfristige Kaufgelegenheit mit einem Kursziel von 450 Pence, das auf der sum-of-parts-Bewertungsmethode basiere.

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Amersham: Equal Weight
21.03.2003 09:07:15
Die Analysten von Lehman Brothers bewerten die Aktie des britischen Pharmaunternehmens Amersham in ihrer Analyse vom 20. März mit „Equal Weight“.
Bei einem aktuellen Kurs von rund 418 Pence sehen sie das Kursziel bei 450 Pence. Seit Beginn des Jahres habe sich die Aktie des Unternehmen 26 % schlechter als der Markt entwickelt. Aus Sicht der Analysten sei der jüngste Ausverkauf überzogen und kurzfristig gebe es die Möglichkeit anziehender Kurse. Jedoch sollte man vorsichtig bleiben, angesichts der großen Währungsrisiken, mit denen sich das Unternehmen konfrontiert sehe.

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Amersham: Buy
02.04.2003 12:07:21
In ihrer aktuellen Studie raten die Analysten aus dem Hause Merrill Lynch zum „Buy“ der Amersham-Aktie.
Auf Grund der befreienden Schuldübernahme, die aktuell den Wert der Aktienanteile ändere, senken die Analysten ihre EPS-Schätzungen für die Periode von 2004 bis 2007. Für 2003 gehen sie dennoch von einem Umsatzwachstum in Höhe von 1,3% aus.

Auf Grund der guten fundamentalen Marktposition der Aktie, halten die Analysten ihr Buy-Rating aufrecht und nennen ein Kursziel auf 12-Monats-Sicht von 560 Pence.

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Amersham creates prostate cancer joint venture
By Stephen Foley
23 April 2003


Amersham, the medical technology company that grew out of the Government`s atomic energy programme, is creating a new joint venture for its prostate cancer treatment business.

The company has been stung into action after falling sales of "brachytherapy seeds", small radioactive balls which are implanted in the prostate to kill cancer cells.

There is a growing awareness of prostate cancer as one of the most prevalent cancers in men, with more than 200,000 new cases diagnosed every year in North America alone. But Amersham`s sales of brachytherapy seeds fell 13 per cent to £62m last year because of intense price competition.

Sir William Castell, Amersham`s chief executive, said yesterday that the company and Galil Medical, an unquoted Israeli company, were merging their urology businesses. The deal gives Amersham control of a new generation of prostate cancer treatments. Galil`s innovative "cryotherapy" products inject iceballs into the prostate to freeze cancer cells. The therapy has regulatory approval for use in Europe and the US, and health authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have agreed to fund it.

Amersham will hold 75 per cent of the joint venture, which will be based in the US, and contribute the bulk of the new company`s salesforce. Its chairman will be drawn from the Amersham side, but a chief executive is yet to be appointed.

Sir William said: "Cryotherapy is a new but rapidly growing technology, increasingly used to treat advanced stages of prostate cancer or recurrent disease. It complements the effective first-line brachytherapy – radiation seed therapy – in which Amersham is market leader."

Amersham`s shares were up 1.75p to 432.5p. They have fallen by almost a quarter this year after a string of setbacks, including the disappointing brachytherapy sales and the falling value of the dollar. The company is also shedding 400 staff because of a slide in sales of science laboratory equipment to drug companies.