Cancer treatment company Sirtex in trading halt ahead of deal announcement

Cancer treatment company Sirtex in trading halt ahead of deal announcement
Shares in Sirtex Medical (ASX: SRX) have been placed in a trading halt as it prepares to release to the market details of a "potential material corporate transaction".

The liver cancer treatment specialist, which has been touted as a potential takeover target in recent weeks, gave no further details of the deal and requested the trading halt until the opening of trade on Thursday or the release of its announcement, depending on which comes first.

Sirtex shares have surged more than 20 per cent over the past three weeks on the back of strong first half earnings of $34 million, which was a 16 per cent increase on the prior corresponding period.

The company reported a $26.3 million loss in 2016-17 after writedowns and failed clinical trials.

Sirtex shares were $18.83 at Monday's close which is at its highest price since late 2016.

Sales of the company's SIR-Spheres microspheres, a product used to deliver medication to cancer sites inside the body, were flat in the first half but McLean says the company expects higher sales in the second half of 2017-18.

"As a result of recent management initiatives, we anticipate higher sales in the second half, with ongoing targeted reductions in operating expenditure to drive business efficiencies and productivity gains, resulting in forecasted full year EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) in the range of $75 to $85 million," McLean says.

This compares to an underlying EBITDA of $61.5 million in the 2017 financial year.


Never miss a news update, subscribe here. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Business News Australia

Get our daily business news

Sign up to our free email news updates.

 
Whitefox Recruitment founder Luke Hemmings making strides as a careers leader
Partner Content
After relocating his Canberra-founded company Whitefox Recruitment to the Gold Coast la...
Whitefox Recruitment
Advertisement

Related Stories

ASIC secures its first court win for greenwashing against US giant Vanguard

ASIC secures its first court win for greenwashing against US giant Vanguard

The Australian corporate watchdog has caught out one of the world&r...

Medicinal cannabis group Althea shaves $1.5m from its cost base through staff cutbacks

Medicinal cannabis group Althea shaves $1.5m from its cost base through staff cutbacks

Australian-founded medicinal cannabis company Althea Group (ASX: AG...

Charter Hall snares 15pc stake in Hotel Property Investments for $97m from 360 Capital

Charter Hall snares 15pc stake in Hotel Property Investments for $97m from 360 Capital

Listed funds manager 360 Capital Group (ASX: TGP) has offloaded its...

The party’s over: Splendour in the Grass festival cancelled for 2024

The party’s over: Splendour in the Grass festival cancelled for 2024

Splendour in the Grass, Australia’s largest winter music fest...