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Stuart Bruck, Chairman of Healthcare Enterprise Group PLC (“HCEG”), the international healthcare products and services company, will make the following statement at today’s Annual General Meeting:
“The start of the current year has seen continued good progress with respect to trading in our products distribution business and further important developments from our brands businesses such as Ebiox and Optiscope. During this period we have also successfully put into place a multinational sales team with offices in the UK, Japan and the USA."
Healthcare Sales and Service (HSS) business:
“The consolidation of the occupational health and first aid business into the Warrington facility is progressing well. The Crest business was integrated in April 2005. The Group is now beginning to benefit from operational and financial synergies as well as organic growth in this specialised sector. On an annualised basis, we anticipate this business contributing circa £4-5 million of profits. Anticipated changes to HSE legislation should lead to a significant increase in turnover in 2006.
CICS, the recently acquired dental distribution business, will be integrated in mid August, providing access to the dental market for a range of products, including Ebiox.
Distrimatch, the German and US distribution business, has started selling chemical raw materials to the veterinary industry. Early indications are encouraging and we believe this may develop into a multi-million dollar sector for us over the coming years."
Ebiox Registration and New Contract negotiations:
“We are in discussion with a number of potential distribution partners for Ebiox decontamination products in the US, China, Japan, Europe and South East Asia. Each of these distribution agreements is targeting multi-million pound sectors. Sales are anticipated to commence as soon as the respective registration processes are completed in each country.
MMS, one of our distribution partners for Ebiox in the US, has introduced the products into five major multi-national companies in the industrial clean room sector. Sales in both Malaysia and Thailand continue to increase.
Ebiox has passed all requested laboratory tests required to launch the products into a wide range of world-wide markets. These include the medical, dental, veterinary, industrial and hospitality service markets. Tests are undertaken as and when there is a potential sales contract upon regulatory registration in any particular geographical market.
UK hospital trials of Ebiox hand products have been agreed and will commence in late summer 2005."
Optiscope progress:
“As announced earlier this month our partner on Optiscope, Wahl, has established that Optiscope provides surgeons with an improved quality of image over existing 10mm laparoscopes when using a remote viewing device. This is in addition to Optiscope’s existing economic advantages and benefits in preventing cross contamination. We expect to establish a number of licensing agreements in 2006."
Reproductive health products:
“The recent acquisitions of equity stakes in MeDilator and Fertiligent provide the Group with a pipeline of single use disposal products in the women’s health and assisted reproduction sector. We plan to launch product prototypes at the Medica exhibition in November 2005."
Outlook and Strategy:
“Our strategy of commercializing proprietary health product platforms is making good progress and we are starting to see returns from bringing high value product platforms with sizeable potential to market.
HCEG has made significant progress in a relatively short space of time and we look forward to an extremely busy and productive year.”
Enquiries:
Healthcare Enterprise Group PLC
Stuart Bruck, Executive Chairman
Gordon Wood, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 020 7351 7500
College Hill
Corinna Dorward
Adrian Duffield
Tel: 020 7457 2020
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