Biggest drug importer has one half to return to profit

Roche Romania, leader of the domestic pharmaceutical market, expects to recoup the 7% first-half losses in the second half, so that in 2009 the Swiss group could reach its 1% profit margin target announced initially. Against the 83m-euro sales, losses amount to 5.8m euros. “In the first half, we had losses of around 7%. We must certainly rally by yearend and generate profit. Losses were mainly caused by exchange rate differences,” Dan Zamonea, Roche Romania general manager, told ZF. In the first six months of this year, Roche Romania reached turnover worth 350m RON (83m euros), up 50% from a year ago. The figures made the company upwardly revise its growth projections from 5% to 15%. Romania is one of the markets with the fastest growth rates for Roche besides Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In terms of sales, Romania ranks fourth after Turkey, Russia and Poland.