Serono reports strong results for 2004
Serono, the world's third largest biotechnology company, has posted its fourth quarter and full year results for the period ended December 31, 2004.
Serono, the world's third largest biotechnology company, has posted its fourth quarter and full year results for the period ended December 31, 2004.
In summary:
total revenues up 21.8% to $2,458.1m
product sales up 17.2% to $2,177.9m
Rebif sales up 33.1% to $1,090.6m
reported net income up 26.7% to $494.2m
reported EPS up 31.3% to $32.35 per bearer share and $0.81 per ADS
Raptiva registered in key markets and now available in 15 countries
new r&d collaborations with CancerVax and Micromet for novel anti-cancer drug candidates
significant steps forward in r&d with six late-stage clinical development programs on-going (five Phase III; one post-registration head-to-head study)
2005 outlook for product sales: growth of between 10% and 15%, with total revenues of at least $2.6bn and net income between $520m and $540m
'We had excellent growth in 2004 and made significant investments for our future,' said Ernesto Bertarelli, ceo, Serono. 'Going forward we have a number of exciting late-stage development projects to drive our future growth, and we will continue to invest in both internal r&d programs and external collaborations to sustain that growth over the longer-term.'