Gerresheimer, a German supplier of pharmaceutical packaging products, says it hit all of its financial targets in 2014 and demand for its products remained high.
The company boosted revenue by 1.9% to €1.29bn and organic growth was 3.7% at constant exchange rates.
The increase was largely due to plastic pharmaceutical packaging and products for the simple and safe administration of medicines, such as insulin pens, asthma inhalers and prefillable syringes, Gerresheimer said.
As expected, sales of glass pharmaceutical primary packaging slowed, particularly due to the weakness of the US market. Growth in the market for cosmetic glass packaging was restrained, while sales of laboratory glassware picked up slightly, the company said.
The adjusted EBITDA of €258.5m in 2014 at constant exchange rates marginally exceeded the target of €255m to €258m. Net income rose by 6.4% to €72.9m.
Our future success depends on continually improving products, processes and quality
Gerresheimer’s capital expenditure in 2014 was €126.6m, representing 9.8% of revenues at constant exchange rates (prior year: €119.1m).
The company is further expanding production capacity for drug delivery systems such as insulin pens and asthma inhalers, especially in the US and Czech Republic.
Last autumn, Gerresheimer opened its third development centre across the globe in China and a new plant for the manufacture of injection vials and ampoules currently under construction in India is scheduled to open in 2015.
In the US, a large facility will be completely refitted this year, while production technologies are to be further standardised and improved in numerous other plants worldwide.
'Our future success depends on continually improving products, processes and quality,' said Chief Executive Uwe Röhrhoff.
'We are investing worldwide to ensure that we continue to grow profitably.'
The company anticipates organic revenue growth of 1% to 3% for the current financial year and an increase in adjusted EBITDA in a target range of €255m to €265m at constant exchange rates. Capital expenditure will be around 9–10% of revenues at constant exchange rates.
