The Irish stock market will get another entrant next month when the Northern Ireland pharmaceutical group Galen Holdings takes a listing in Dublin. Galen has been listed in London since mid-July and, as a Northern Ireland-registered company, it will automatically be included in the ISEQ Overall Index.
The inclusion in the ISEQ is an important factor for Northern companies with a listing in Dublin, as it makes the companies immensely more attractive to Irish fund managers wanting a balanced weighting in their portfolios of Irish stocks. The bigger Northern companies such as Northern Ireland Electricty, Ulster Television, Powerscreen and Boxmore have all proved popular with investors in Dublin.
The absence of other pharmaceutical companies - with the expansion of Elan - should also mean that Galen will get a warm welcome when it joins the market.
Galen shares closed in London last Friday at an all-time high of 208p sterling and this values the company at £275 million (Irish). This would put Galen among the top 20 companies on the Irish market and it would account for just under one per cent of the ISEQ Overall Index. Galen's arrival would mean that Northern Ireland will account for close on 7 per cent of the value of the Irish market.
In the six weeks since the flotation, the shares have risen from 165p sterling to 208p sterling. When Galen was floated in midJuly, it raised £30 million in a placing. But most of the shares are held by directors, with the chairman founder, Dr Allen McClay, retaining a 34.7 per cent stake, the chief executive, Mr John King 22.2 per cent, and the finance director, Mr Geoffrey Elliott 7.2 per cent.
Prior to the flotation, Dr McCLay, who founded Galen in 1968 after leaving Glaxo, donated £9 million worth of shares to Queens University Belfast and a further £7.5 million worth of shares to the company's 600 staff.
Galen made a profit of £7.2 million sterling on sales of £31 million in the year to September 1996. Dublin brokers Goodbody are expecting further strong growth from Galen, and have forecast profits of £11 million in the current year, rising to £14.3 million in the year to September 1998.
