Botox sales surge delivers record profits for Allergan's Irish arm

Gordon Deegan

A global surge in the sales of Botox produced at Allergan’s Westport plant helped the business record pre-tax profits of $1.327 billion (€1.245 billion) in 2021.

New accounts for Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland UC show that the increase in the demand for Botox resulted in company revenues increasing by 52 per cent from $2.857 billion to $4.348 billion.

The Co Mayo plant is Abbvie’s sole manufacturing facility for the production of Botox worldwide.

The accounts for Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland UC show that Botox sales totalled $3.6 billion in 2021- or 84 per cent of all sales - as eye care pharmaceutical sales totalled $716 million.

The figures show that sales of Botox increased by 66 per cent - or $1.45 billion - to $3.6 billion.

Numbers employed reduced from 1,316 to 1,210 in 2021 and the business’s contribution to the local economy is underlined with staff costs totalling $105.62 million in 2021.

Allergan first set up on a greenfield site outside Westport 46 years ago, and it has provided a bonanza to the Co Mayo town and the north-west region.

In 2021 staff numbers were made up of 667 in production, 296 in quality, 21 in administration and 226 under the heading of ‘indirect’.

The company’s largest market is the US accounting for 75 per cent or $3.25 billion in sales.

The pre-tax profit of $1.32 billion followed pre-tax loss of $2.1 billion in 2020 that largely related to non-cash write-downs.

The profit in 2021 takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation of $1.52 billion and a non-cash gain of $718.3 million arising from a reversal of a prior write-down of intangible assets.

The accounts - signed off on February 3rd - show that the business recorded an operating profit in 2021 of $2.2 billion and net interest payments of $875 million reduced the profits to $1.3 billion.

The business recorded post tax profits of $1.16 billion after paying corporation tax of $164 million.

Hollywood stars and celebrities, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Courteney Cox and Kim Kardashian have all admitted that they have used the wrinkle erasing drug, Botox in the past.

Abbvie's $63 billion purchase of the Allergan group was completed in 2020.