A&D Pharma: Western economies have a tractor effect on Romanian business sector

Robert Popescu, CEO of A&D Pharma, the biggest domestic
pharmaceutical group, with turnover worth around half a billion
euros, believes the rebound of West European economies will trigger
a rebound of the Romanian economy, and the first field where this
will become visible is the automotive one. “I have no reasons to
believe the first half of the year will look better. The big hope
is for the second half and it is based on external factors. In the
extent to which Western Europe starts registering economic growth,
this will have, with a certain delay, for sure, a ‘tractor’ effect
for us, too. This is because we have a lot of plants producing for
export purposes. If things start to move in the automotive industry
(of the West i.e.), they will begin to move here, too, because the
market is vertically integrated,” Popescu told ZF in an interview.
Popescu, who came at the helm of A&D in the summer of 2008,
believes economic rebound will not bring the same “exuberance”
characteristic of the years before the crisis, because managers
have seen increases and profits can be generated even during a
crisis period.