Sales up 35% for Gedeon Richter

Gedeon Richter Romania posted 26 million-euro (31.2 million dollars) sales in Romania last year, higher than in 2004 when it posted 19.4 million euros, according to the unconsolidated results of the parent company based in Hungary, quoted by Mediafax.

The company carries out both production and import operations on the Romanian market.

Taken separately, Gedeon Richter Romania (the former Armedica) posted 17.2 million-dollar (some 14 million euros) revenues last year, an increase of 48.5% compared with 2004, while Richter Gedeon (import operations) sales totalled 14 million dollars (11.5 million euros), an increase of 17.4%.

Gedeon Richter Romania merged with its Armedica SA subsidiary in late 2003, forming Gedeon Richter Romania SA, after the Hungarian pharmaceutical company had indirectly taken over the controlling interests in the Targu Mures-based drugmaker in 1998.

The Romanian office of the company last month took out a loan of nearly 1.5 million euros (1.75 million dollars) from the parent company to fund its investment programmes for this year. The loan is repayable in quarterly instalments as of 2007 until the end of 2010, with a grace period of two years.

The products developed by Gedeon Richter over the last few years have become part of the portfolio of the group”s companies, allowing it to start exporting to Hungary, Russia and Poland.

The company intends to maintain a rate of introducing five new drugs onto the market every year.

Gedeon Richter is one of the leading drugmakers in Central and Eastern Europe, and has a strong position in the region, especially in Russia. It also exports to the North-American market.

Total sales of the Hungarian company stood at 843 million dollars (some 680 million euros) last year, an increase of 14.6% on 2004. alexandru.cerchez@zf.ro