Merck third quarter sales reach new high
Merck Group has reported record-breaking sales for the third quarter of the year, leading the company to forecast that this will be the best year in its 333-year history. Sales rose by 14% to €1.952bn (US$1.79bn), and operating profit by 52% to €293m (US$268m). The result was entirely due to organic growth, and was predominantly driven by an excellent performance from pharmaceuticals, especially ethicals and generics, the company said.
Pharmaceuticals sales rose by 23% to €892m (US$818m) in the third quarter and contributed 46% to sales and 79% to the operating result of the Merck Group during this period. Sales of ethicals increased by 22% to €553m (US$507m), aided by a 42% rise in sales of the anti-diabetes family of drugs – Glucophage, Glucovance and Glucophage XR.
Generics sales jumped 34% to €265m, helped by the outstanding August launch in the US of Fluoxetine, the generic version of the best-selling antidepressant Prozac. Although Merck disposed of its stake in US generic drug manufacturer PRI at the end of August, Genpharm in Canada and Alphapharm in Australia have development and supply agreements that allow Merck to continue sharing in the profits of many PRI products such as Fluoxetine.
' We expect full-year double-digit growth on both the bottom and top lines,' stated Bernhard Scheuble, chairman and ceo of Merck.