Sicomed Bucharest, Romania’s largest drugmaker, has managed to maintain a brisk sales growth rate in the second quarter of 2004, but failed to increase profits.
The company logged sales worth some $26 million in the first six months of the year (the three-month figure stood at $14m), up approximately 15% compared to the corresponding period of last year. The growth is similar both in ROL and in dollars, as the ROL/USD exchange rate has been rather stable in the past year.
Sicomed sells the bulk of its output in Romania, so that national currency data is the most relevant for the drugmaker.
Despite the surge in sales, the drugmaker failed to make up for the ground it lost in the first quarter in terms of profit. In the first half, net profit dropped 14%, from 117 billion ROL (3.5 million dollars) in 2003 to 101 billion ROL (3 million dollars) this year.
Sicomed’s officials explained the decline through increasing production costs, incurred due to compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice). The drop in profits thus occurred at an operating level, with the company’s earnings going down by 17 billion ROL (some 550,000 dollars) in the first six months.
“The results posted in the first half of the current year characterise a growing company, focused on improving internal resources, on making them more effective. We are certain that the financial targets scheduled for this year will be reached, since we are going to launch a series of new products in the second half. Promotion campaigns for certain important products from our portfolio will also intensify,” says Klaas Postema, general manager of Sicomed.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro