• Drop in revenue due to slowdown in certain markets
• Company putting strategy in place to help strengthen financial health

February 16, 2019, Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) - Julphar, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Middle East and Africa, has announced its preliminary 2018 results.

The company reported non-audited 2018 net sales of AED 863 million and a net loss of AED 153m. Consequently, the company’s management has focused on cost reductions and has taken several actions to strengthen the organization and maximize cash flows.

Jerome Carle, General Manager of Julphar said, “We saw a decline in our revenue and profitability due to the headwinds in Saudi Arabia, but we continued to work hard on new products launches and building new alliances, which will have a positive impact on our long-term performance.

“In 2019, challenges still lie ahead but we are taking steps to strengthen our financial health as part of a new far reaching strategy that will see us increasing our effectiveness and efficiency.”

One of the first steps, said Carle, was a reorganization of its workforce, which would enable the company to better prepare for the future and to “anticipate and respond to trends and challenges in the constantly evolving marketplace”.

“As we assessed the implications of various factors on our business, we made the difficult decision that workforce reductions were necessary,” said Carle. “Where roles were impacted, full support was given to explore reassignment opportunities within the organization. It is never an easy decision to reduce staff numbers but recent events and the slowdown in certain markets made it unavoidable.”

“We are confident that by making these difficult decisions now, we will be in a much better position moving forward. By aligning our operations and resources, we can continue with our strategic plan to revitalize the company for the future”, he added.