Zeltia Achieves Consolidated EBITDA Break-Even in 1Q10

MADRID, Spain, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Consolidated revenues for Zeltia (ZEL.MC) amounted to 32.9 million euro (approximately 163.6 million USD*) in 1Q10, up 49% with respect to 1Q09. Net income improved 50%.

Net revenues in biopharmaceuticals rose 90.9%, primarily due to Yondelis(R) sales, which totaled 16.6 million euro (approximately 22 million USD) in the first quarter. Almost 60 countries worldwide have authorized the sale of Yondelis(R).

Genomica increased total sales by 29.5% to 1.8 million euro (approximately 2.4 million USD).

Consumer chemical sales amounted to 14.3 million euro (approximately 18.9 million USD), an increase of 16.5% compared with 1Q09, despite the adverse economic situation, which has affected spending.

The company reached EBITDA break-even (68 thousand euro, approximately 90 thousand USD). EBITDA in 1Q09 was -1.1 million euro (approximately -1.5 million USD) despite including 7.8 million euro (approximately 10.3 million USD) in revenues for licensing Yondelis(R) to Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. in Japan.

The bottom line reflects a 50% improvement in losses (-1.96 million euro (approximately -2.6 million USD) in 1Q10, compared with -3.91 million euro (approximately -5.2 million USD) in 1Q09).

The Group's net cash position (cash + cash equivalents - short-term bank debt) amounted to 25.2 million euro (approximately 33.4 million USD).

About Zeltia:

Zeltia S.A. is a world-leading biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of marine-based drugs for use in oncology and central nervous system illnesses. Grupo Zeltia consists mainly of the following companies: PharmaMar, the world-leading biotechnology company in advancing cancer care through the discovery and development of innovative marine-derived medicines; Noscira, a biotech firm focused on discovering and developing new drugs against Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative central nervous system diseases; Genomica, Spain's leading molecular diagnostics company; Sylentis, dedicated to researching therapeutic applications of gene silencing (RNAi); and a chemical division comprising Zelnova and Xylazel, two highly profitable companies that are leaders in their respective market segments.

This press release is also available in the Current events section on Zeltia's web site:

www.zeltia.com

* All original figures are in Euros; dollar figures are estimated using the exchange rate: 1.3255.

SOURCE Zeltia