Merck Reports Jump in Earnings in Q3 2015

• All business sectors contribute to 6.8% rise in Group net sales
• EBITDA pre exceptionals climb 10.2%; net income soars by 46.3%
• Life Science drives organic sales growth of the Group
• One-time effect from the release of provisions in Healthcare
• Forecast for 2015 lifted thanks to good operational performance and Sigma-Aldrich acquisition

Darmstadt, Germany, November 12, 2015 – Merck, a leading science and technology company, reported sales growth of 6.8% in the third quarter of 2015. EBITDA pre exceptionals rose sharply by 10.2%.

“Our organic growth in all three business sectors and all regions shows that our strategy is bearing fruit. We are also well-positioned for future growth,” said Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Merck Executive Board. “The fact that we are lifting the forecast for the current full year is due to the good operational performance of our businesses as well as to the imminent acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich.”

Group sales rose in the third quarter of 2015 by 6.8% to € 3.1 billion (Q3 2014: € 2.9 billion). Organic sales growth amounted to 3.3% while positive currency effects increased sales by 3.5%. From a geographic perspective, the Asia-Pacific region was the growth engine of the Group with strong organic growth and significantly positive currency effects.

The 10.2% jump in EBITDA pre exceptionals, Merck’s key performance indicator, to € 944 million (Q3 2014: € 857 million), was primarily driven by good operating performance in the third quarter. Lower research and development costs were due among other things to the release of provisions that had been set up in the second half of 2014 for the discontinuation of clinical development programs. This contrasted with higher marketing and selling expenses in the third quarter of 2015 that were incurred in connection with the investments in company growth initiatives. Group EBIT rose sharply by 31.4% to € 564 million (Q3 2014: € 429 million). Net income soared by 46.3% to € 364 million (Q3 2014: € 249 million). Earnings per share pre exceptionals rose in the third quarter of 2015 by 14.8% to € 1.32 (Q3 2014: € 1.15).

As of September 30, 2015, Merck had built up net financial position of € 1.3 billion. Net financial debt will soon increase considerably as a result of the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich. Merck had 40,339 employees worldwide on September 30, 2015.

All business sectors report growth in the first nine months
In the first nine months of 2015, Group net sales rose 12.2% to € 9.4 billion (Jan.-Sept. 2014: € 8.4 billion). All three business sectors contributed to this increase. Foreign exchange movements accounted for a 7.5% increase in sales, which grew organically by 2.3% in the nine-month period. Portfolio effects, among other things due to the acquisition of AZ Electronic Materials, were responsible for a 2.4% increase in sales in the first nine months of 2015. For the period from January to September 2015, the Merck Group reported EBITDA pre exceptionals of € 2.7 billion (Jan.-Sept. 2014: € 2.5 billion), thus improving the year-earlier figure by 7.5%. Earnings per share pre exceptionals climbed 8.1% to € 3.74 in the first nine months of 2015 (Jan.-Sept. 2014: € 3.46).

Healthcare achieves organic growth in Asia-Pacific
Sales increased in the Healthcare business sector in the third quarter of 2015 by 1.4% to € 1.7 billion (Q3 2014: € 1.7 billion) amid slightly negative exchange rate effects. In the third quarter of 2015, the organic increase in sales was driven in particular by products to treat infertility (Gonal-f), diabetes (Glucophage), thyroid disorders (Euthyrox), as well as by Neurobion, a brand marketed by the Consumer Health business. From a geographic perspective, the Asia-Pacific region fueled organic growth.

Thanks to business performance in North America and positive currency effects, sales of Rebif, which is used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, were flat at € 468 million in the third quarter of 2015 (Q3 2014: € 466 million) despite strong competitive pressure mainly from oral formulations. Sales of the oncology drug Erbitux declined to € 223 million (Q3 2014: € 232 million) due to an organic decrease and negative currency effects. Sales of the fertility drug Gonal-f increased to € 167 million in the third quarter (Q3 2014: € 147 million), supported by organic growth and favorable currency effects.

EBITDA pre exceptionals of the Healthcare business sector rose in the third quarter by 8.1% to € 537 million (Q3 2014: € 497 million).

The complete Merck News Release can be downloaded at the following link:
http://news.merck.de/N/0/88F8EB322836411EC1257EFA0066925B/$File/Q3_2015_PM_EN.pdf

 

Merck Advances to Eighth Place in the 2012 Access to Medicine Index

Merck moves up nine places from previous rank 17 (out of 20), thanks to scaled-up efforts in its praziquantel donation program, and ongoing activities to promote better health solutions to populations in need

Darmstadt, Germany, November 28, 2012 – Merck announced today that it now ranks eighth in the Access to Medicine Index published today by the Access to Medicine Foundation. Merck has moved up nine places compared to the 2010 ranking. Every two years, the Access to Medicine Index benchmarks twenty pharmaceutical companies on the different activities and initiatives in promoting access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries.

“Merck has moved up to eighth place in this year’s Index largely because it has provided more information about its tiered pricing, management strategy and single-drug donation programs,” the Access to Medicine Foundation cited as reason why Merck has moved up nine places.

“Today, our efforts have been well recognized by the Index and serve as a measuring tool to monitor Merck’s overall progress in the access to medicine field. We are committed to pursuing and further developing our Access to Health activities in the future to achieve sustainable health solutions to all,” said Stefan Oschmann, Executive Board Member of Merck and Head of the Merck Serono division.

The Access to Health initiative at Merck was launched in February 2011 and has identified access gaps and opportunities to better meet the needs of underserved patients. Merck’s Access to Health initiative aims at bringing added value to the community at large, and is becoming an integral part of how Merck conducts business in a responsible, sustainable manner. Merck recognizes the complexity of bringing health solutions to the poor and understands that Access to Medicines Index objectives cannot be reached by the pharmaceutical industry alone. Complementarity, synergy and partnership among the different actors in health are needed to achieve a long-term impact and sustainable results.

Compared to 2010, Merck has today been recognized by the Access to Medicines Foundation in particular for several topics such as:

• Innovative research and development for a pediatric version of praziquantel to treat schistosomiasis, and adapting this drug and anti-diabetic medication. Glucophage; five collaborations for relevant diseases and two instances of intellectual property sharing.
• Introduced access to medicine charter with board-level responsibility, stakeholder engagement reflects initiatives for product donation and research and development targeting neglected tropical diseases, and provides detailed information about access strategy and policies.
• Transparent about lobbying and public policy positions, monitored and enforced codes of conduct for ethical marketing for employees and third parties.

Access to Medicine Foundation
The Access to Medicine Foundation is an international not for profit organization stimulating pharmaceutical companies to improve access to medicine to societies in need. Based in Haarlem, the Netherlands, the Foundation publishes the Access to Medicine Index, the first Index of its kind to rank pharmaceutical companies with respect to their efforts to enhance global access to medicine. The Foundation aims to advance access to medicine in developing countries by encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to accept a greater role towards improving access to medicine in less developed countries. Please find more information here: http://www.accesstomedicineindex.org

Access to Medicine Index
Access to medicines remains a very serious concern for billions of people suffering from disease and is still a primary challenge for the global health system. Reflecting the key role of the pharmaceutical industry in addressing the challenges of access, it is essential that the Access to Medicine Index’s approach to monitoring and evaluating the performance of the industry in this work is robust, balanced and comprehensive. The foundation every two years ranks 20 medium to large-size pharmaceutical companies with respect to their efforts to enhance global access to medicine. You can see the latest ranking as well as rankings from the past here.

Click here to download the Press Release