CSL looks to the US after solid half-year result

Blood products and vaccine manufacturer CSL has announced it more than doubled its interim profit to $57.5 million on the back of its acquisition of Swiss plasma supplier ZLB last year.

The Melbourne-based biopharmaceutical company said its first half figures were also bolstered by greater than expected sales of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) from ZLB.

Analysts said the result came in slightly above the market's expectations, with 563,718 shares traded to reach a peak of $49.52 soon after the 11am announcement, before closing 50c down at $48.

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, CSL said it expected its full year net profit to increase by 55 to 60 per cent.

It revealed group sales now totalled $590 million, marking a 76 per cent increase on the same period last year, mostly thanks to the US trading operations of ZLB Bioplasma and ZLB Plasma Services, neither of which were part of CSL in the first half of 2001. International markets now comprise 69 per cent of the blue chip company's sales.

CSL Managing Director Dr Brian McNamee said that while the group was happy with the result, there was more work to be done.

"The result had a lot of good underlying strength to it and we have made a good start in the US," McNamee said.

"We have to strengthen our marketing and sales capabilities in North America and when the plasma from ZLB comes available in the next two years we have to build stronger capabilities because we will be doubling our capacity."

The above consensus result will deliver shareholders a 12c fully-franked dividend to be paid on April 23.

Burdett Buckeridge Young analyst Andrew Goodsall described CSL's interim report as a pleasing result that was slightly ahead of the market.

"A key driver of the revenue is the ZLB acquisition and the Nabi collection centers which are starting to contribute to the half and that really maps out their future," Goodsall said.

"It was a really good half for their biosciences division although the animal health area has been reasonably flat this year."

In September 2000, CSL paid $AUD696.4 million for the plasma fractionation assets and business of Rotkreuzstiftung Zentrallaboratorium Blutspendedienst SRK (ZLB), a foundation of the Swiss Red Cross.

A year later the company's wholly owned US subsidiary, ZLB Bioplasma Inc, spent $AUD292 million on 47 antibody collection centers and a testing laboratory from NASDAQ listed biopharmaceutical company Nabi.

CSL has agreed to pay a further $AUD196.7 million to the Swiss Red Cross in 2005, followed by further payments of about $AUD115.1 million pending performance targets.