Merck 2011 revenue exceeds €10m for first time
Boosted by the acquisition of Millipore Corporation
Merck KGaA delivered ‘a good operational result in a challenging year in 2011’, including surpassing €10bn in total revenues for the first time in its history.
Total revenues increased by 11% to €10.3bn, up from €9.3bn in 2010, boosted by the acquisition of Millipore Corporation in July. All four of Merck’s divisions contributed to this growth.
The Darmstadt-based company reported full-year earnings of €617m, a fall of 2.3%.
‘We managed to deliver on our profitability guidance despite facing a softening economy and significant one-time charges,’ said Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of the Merck Executive Board. ‘However, we recognise that the competitive and market pressures we face in our businesses are likely to increase over the next few years.’
Merck Serono’s total revenues increased 2.9% to €5.9bn in 2011, driven by multiple sclerosis treatment Rebif, which saw a sales increase of 3.4% to b1.7bn in 2011, boosted by higher sales in the US.
Sales of the targeted cancer drug Erbitux rose 3.5% in 2011 to €855m, boosted by strong growth in emerging markets.
Merck Millipore’s total revenues rose 48% to €2.4bn in 2011 compared with €1.6m in 2010, which had included Millipore for only six months. The division’s ‘solid performance’ in 2011 was led by sales growth in North America (7.2% organic growth), Latin America (8.7% organic growth) and Asia (5.1% organic growth).
Last month Merck announced a cost-cutting programme in response to what Kley described as ‘the competitive and market pressures we face in our businesses’. He said the moves across all businesses and regions would enable the company to ‘address our inefficiencies and free up resources to invest in promising growth markets.’
No further details have been revealed.
