Julphar’s chairman, vice-chairman are latest to resign

Dubai: Julphar Pharmaceuticals, which was hit by product recall and a market suspension in Saudi Arabia, said on Thursday its chairman and vice-chairman tendered their resignations, a month after several members of its board of directors resigned.

The company in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) that the chairman Faisal Bin Saqer Al Qasimi and vice-chairman Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Qasimi resigned on April 17.

“Whether it is changes in the company’s board or chief executive suite, the issue is the lack of a proper crisis management strategy. The company’s revenues and profits were heavily impacted in 2018 as a result of the Saudi suspension, which was not dealt with in a timely manner nor communicated effectively,” said Issam Kassabieh, Senior Financial Analyst — Research Department at Menacorp.

Shares of Julphar remain suspended on Abu Dhabi stock exchange. “Shareholders could be pushing towards changes in the firm — and perhaps its board — in efforts at protecting their interests,” he added.

The series of resignations came after the company recalled three of their products — Sedofan, Profinal and Cefuzime — “for not complying with product specifications”.

The company reported a net loss of Dh153 million on revenues of Dh863 million for 2018, resulting in cost reductions and steps to maximise cash flows.

“We saw a decline in our revenue and profitability due to the headwinds in Saudi Arabia, but we continued to work hard on new product launches and building new alliances, which will have a positive impact on our long-term performance,” said Jerome Carle, General Manager of Julphar had said in a statement on February 15. “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.”