In the past five years, South African company Aspen Pharmacare has been on an aggressive growth strategy, which has put it on the global map as a force to be reckoned with, but the very same aggression is what makes it a questionable investment. Rayhaan Joosub, deputy CEO of investment company Sentio Capital Management, said despite its exponential growth, there were a few red flags around Aspen. Aspen announces its year-end results next month. With a market capitalisation of R131bn, it operates in about 50 countries and supplies more than 150 countries. It is the world's ninth-largest producer of generics. The main issue for Joosub was that Aspen had a high level of intangibles on its balance sheet, an unclear acquisition strategy and a lack of focus on whether its main business was still on generic medication or whether it was shifting into specialist categories. "I think they [Aspen] need to address the quality of the balance sheet. I think they need to focus a bit more . they ar...
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