Interim results for the

• 

  Revenue
  increased by
  11^%  to R21,9 billion

  Strong organic and acquisitive growth from Commercial Pharmaceuticals with the Thrombosis and Anaesthetics portfolios being the main contributors. Revenue increased by 11% on a constant exchange rate (“CER*”) basis.

• 

  Normalised EBITDA
  increased by
  15^% to R6,3 billion

  Normalised EBITDA, comprising operating profit before depreciation and amortisation adjusted for specific non-trading items, grew 15% (up 13% on a CER* basis) led by growth in Therapeutic Focused Brands supported by consistent underlying performance from Regional Brands.

• 

  Earnings per share
  increased by
  30^% to 806,0 cents

  Reflects organic and acquisitive growth (up 29% on a CER* basis) supported by an effective supply chain.




• 

  Headline earnings
  per share increased by
  31^%  to 842,5 cents

  Reflects organic and acquisitive growth (up 31% on a CER* basis) supported by an effective supply chain.

• 

  Normalised headline earnings
  per share increased by
  26^%  to 871,9 cents

  Normalised headline earnings per share (up 25% on a CER* basis) comprises headline earnings per share adjusted for specific non-trading items and is a measure which provides clear comparability of the financial performance of Aspen’s ongoing underlying business. Solid growth in normalised EBITDA coupled with lower net financing costs augmented the growth in normalised headline earnings.

• Acquisition of the residual
  rights to the AZ Anaesthetics
  portfolio concluded

  The closing conditions for the acquisition of the residual rights to the AZ Anaesthetics portfolio were concluded and the transaction became effective from 1 October 2017. This has led to an expanded gross margin in Therapeutic Focused Brands and is expected to enhance Aspen’s ability to maximise the value of this portfolio through product development and market leverage opportunities.

* The constant exchange rate (“CER”) restatement has been calculated by adjusting the prior year’s reported results at the current year’s reported exchange rate. This provides illustrative comparability with the current year’s reported performance.