Richter posts 13% sales growth in 2009

2010-02-09

Gedeon Richter, the number one Hungarian drug maker, reported a 13% increase in group sales revenues in 2009, to HUF 267.3bn (€952.4m). In euro terms sales turnover edged up by 1.1%. Pharmaceutical sales grew at an even higher rate, rising by 14.2% compared with 2008 to HUF 223.4bn (€795.8m). In euro terms pharma sales climbed 2.2%.
Total net profit was up by 23.6% last year, to HUF 51.2bn (€182.3m), as revenue growth outpaced cost increases.
In its annual report, the company noted that its sales were negatively impacted by currency depreciation in many of its core markets, but this was all but compensated for by sales growth in Russia and the United States, its main export markets.
Pharmaceutical sales in the domestic market grew 3.7% to HUF 30.5bn (€108.5m), after strong growth in Q1 gave way to flat sales through Q2-Q4 due to lower reimbursement rates and adverse impact of the economic downturn.
Sales in the EU region were up by 1.4% to HUF 62.7bn (€223.2m). There were considerable differences between individual markets, however. Thus, Romania, Richter’s second-largest market in the EU, saw a 25.4% increase in pharmaceutical sales to HUF 7.3bn (€26.1m); by contrast, sales in Poland, the largest market, dropped by 5.5% to HUF 20.6bn (€73.3m), although in zloty terms a 4.3% increase was recorded.
Similarly, an overall 14.3% sales growth in the CIS region was driven mainly by Russia, where sales surged by 24.1% to HUF 60.5bn (€215.6m), but was weighed down by Ukraine, with sales tumbling by 12%.
Sales in the US showed particularly impressive growth in 2009, soaring by 65.7% to HUF 35.7bn (€127.2m).