2021 Annual report

Was 2021 a special year for Virbac?
Yes, it was. For the first time in our history, we passed the one billion euro mark in sales. Thanks to our excellent commercial performance, in a very dynamic animal health sector, our growth amounted to more than 18% at constant exchange rates and scope. But beyond this symbolic achievement, we have seen remarkable performance consistently across the world. 

What does that mean?
With the exception of Chile, all the subsidiaries in our top 20 achieved growth rates of more than 8%, and more than half of them grew by more than 15%. These figures reflect the commitment of our teams in all the regions where we operate. 

And what about external growth?
2021 marked a return to intense business development activity. At the beginning of the year, we acquired Clomicalm and Itrafungol from Elanco, two products that complement our specialties portfolio. We also finalized the acquisition of the remaining 49% of our Chilean subsidiary Centrovet and bought iVet LLC in the United States, a company specializing in petfood distribution. The aim: to acquire logistics and e-commerce skills in order to accelerate preparations for the launch in the United States of our own petfood range early 2022.

Other highlights?
Our profitability is also up sharply, with a jump of more than two points compared to 2020. This spectacular change is of course due to our sales growth, but also to an improvement in our margin and very good control of our costs, despite, on the one hand, a rebound in our expenses linked to the Covid crisis and, on the other, the sale of our Sentinel parasiticides for dogs marketed in the United States. Finally, we have clearly exceeded the equally symbolic threshold of 15% for the ratio of adjusted operating profit to sales, to reach 16.3%, a historic level.

What about the outlook for 2022?
With a sector that was considered essential and very buoyant in 2021, the unfailing commitment of our teams and a very favorable financial situation, we are looking forward to 2022 with serenity and the same determination to improve the health and well-being of animals.