Contract drug manufacturer Patheon Inc. says it's planning changes at its lab and packaging facility in Burlington, Ont., as part of a continuing restructuring of the company's global operations.
Patheon said it will consolidate the Burlington lab with its Toronto operation and seek "strategic alternatives" for the clinical packaging operation. It didn't specify what alternatives are being considered.
The Toronto-based company also announced it has received indications of interest in its Swindon, U.K., manufacturing site. Patheon provided few details on what it plans for Swindon but said it wasn't planning to sell its U.K. pharmaceutical development services. It is, however, planning to transfer its European headquarters from Zug, Switzerland to its continuing U.K. operations.
The financial impact of the consolidations won't be material and are expected to reduce costs, the company said Friday.
Patheon chief executive officer James Mullen said the company's review of its operations has confirmed it has a leading position in its industry and that "macro trends" are working in its favour.
"But to capitalize on this position, it is clear that we must aggressively improve the performance of our core operations," Mr. Mullen said.
Patheon's announcement came in its latest financial report, which showed the company reduced its third-quarter loss as it benefited from higher revenue and a large tax break.
The Toronto-based company reported a $700,000 (U.S.) net loss attributable to restricted voting shareholders, including $200,000 from discontinued operations. That compared to a loss of $3-million a year earlier, including discontinued operations.
The loss for the three months ended July 31 amounted to 0.6 cents per share, an improvement from a loss of 2.3 cents per share a year earlier. However, a $2.7-million income tax benefit reduced Patheon's loss from continuing operations. Removing the impact of income taxes, Patheon's third-quarter loss would have increased to $3.2-million from $1-million.
Revenue for the contract drug maker rose to $172.7-million from $163.3-million.