FNArena’s Weekly Insights – November 11 2019
Margin pressure is emerging for collectors and fractionators of human plasma, and this means more good news for CSL ((CSL)), the best and lowest cost operator in the sector.
To understand the industry dynamics it is important to know that operational margins and returns are derived from so-called “last litre” economics. In practice, plasma fractionators end up with two proteins; immunoglobulin (IG) and albumin. Demand for the first continues to grow at 9%-10% per annum while for the latter growth is less than half that.
This is a problem as if a fractionator is left with unsold albumin, even with high demand for IG, the operating margin suffers (and potentially quite significantly too). The current environment is one wherein cost pressures are to the upside, so the combined effect of these two dynamics can be quite profound, if no action is taken by the industry.
