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Gold/Mining/Energy : Nuvo Research Inc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cal Gary who wrote (7654)	9/4/2001 1:33:12 AM
From: Cal Gary	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14101

uk.news.yahoo.com Monday September 3, 11:44 AM Healthy outlook at Provalis By Mark Potter LONDON (Reuters) - Integrated healthcare firm Provalis (LSE: PRO.L - news) has reported a sharp rise in annual turnover, saying it will benefit from a larger sales force and new products in the current year. The company, formerly known as Cortecs which nearly collapsed in 1999, reduced its net loss by 41 percent to 4.4 million pounds in the year to June 30 on sales up 18 percent at 7.8 million euros. Chief Executive Phil Gould told Reuters on Monday that he was comfortable with analysts' forecasts the firm would break even in 2003. In a telephone interview, he said a strong June looked to have been maintained in July and August, thanks in part to an increase in the sales force of the company's main healthcare division to 42 from 29 in March and to sales of Pennsaid, a painkilling cream for osteo-arthiritis bought the same month. Gould also said that after a slower than expected start, the firm's glucose monitoring kit for diabetics, GlycasalTM, was starting to fulfil its expected potential. Sam Fazeli, analyst at Altium Capital, said the potential for Glycasol -- which addresses an existing market of about $1 billion which is growing around 5 percent per year -- was the key to his buy recommendation on the stock. Another analyst who declined to be named was more sanguine, however. "Diagnostics is a low margin, high volume business and you don't get many small companies surviving. If they've got something that works, they'll get snapped up," he said. At 11 a.m., Provalis' shares were almost two percent higher at 14 1/4 pence, valuing the business around 33 million pounds. HEALTHCARE LEADS THE WAY Provalis aims to make money from selling prescription medicines and medical diagnostics in order to fund the development of new therapeutics products. It nearly went under in 1999 after controversial chairman and chief executive Glen Travers was ousted and sued for 1.5 million pounds for loss of perks, including helicopter lessons. Turnover at the heathcare division rose 22 percent to 6.2 million pounds, while operating profit fell slightly due to the expansion of the sales force. The healthcare division also sells products in the areas of migraine, dermatology and gastroenterology. Sales the medical diagnostics division, which makes Glycosal, rose 44 percent to 1.3 million pounds. It made a loss of 2.4 million, slightly worse than last year. The therapeutics division, which is developing vaccines for infectious diseases such as pneumonia, saw a small dip in sales, but also a slight reduction in its operating loss. Gould said the vaccines were still in their very early stages and that he didn't expect them to come to market until toward the end of the decade.