Merck reports record 2010 revenue as net profit rises 51%
Awaiting US FDA marketing authorisation decision for cladribine tablets
Merck KGaA saw its Q4 net profit fall by 18% to €46.5m owing to the acquisition and integration of US laboratory equipment specialist Millipore, while revenue climbed 26% to €2.5bn.
Full-year net profit increased by 51% to €632m on the back of a record revenue of €9.3bn, up 20%.
The Merck Serono division of the Darmstadt, Germany based pharmaceuticals group increased turnover by 7.9% to €1.5bn in the fourth quarter, as the result of a good performance from its biopharmaceuticals. The company generated 61% of its sales with multiple sclerosis drug Rebif, cancer drug Erbitux, Saizen for growth hormone deficiency, infertility treatment Gonal-f and Serostim.
Rebif was the best-selling product with full-year sales rising 8.6% to €1.7bn, while Erbitux posted a double-digit increase in sales, which rose 18% to €820m.
Sales at Merck’s consumer health division declined 5.2% in Q4 to €126m.
At €1.17bn, Merck Serono’s full-year r&d spending was slightly lower (–1.4%) than in 2009. This was due to project delays with cancer vaccine Stimuvax and Movectro (cladribine tablets), and to efficiency enhancement measures.
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency issued a final negative opinion regarding the marketing authorisation of cladribine tablets last month. Merck expects to have a decision on cladribine from the US Food and Drug Administration review committee by the end of this month.
Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of Merck KGaA, said 2010 was a ‘transformational year’ for Merck, with the acquisition of Millipore ‘adding new capabilities, scale and innovative products’.
With Millipore results included for the full year, Kley expects group revenue in 2011 to grow by between 13–18%, assuming that cladribine wins FDA approval, and the operating result to rise by 35–45%.