Slovenian drugmaker Krka's nine-month profit up, full-year to beat its forecast (updated)

Krka dd Novo Mesto

21/11/2019 07:55

* Full-year profit seen at 200 mln euros
    * Full year sales seen up by 7%
    * 2020 profit seen at 210 mln euros

 (Updates with quote, details)
    LJUBLJANA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Slovenian pharmaceutical
producer Krka  KRKG.LJ  made a group net profit of 171.9 million
euros ($190.3 million) in the first nine months of 2019 versus
120.8 million in the same period of 2018 on higher sales, the
company said on Thursday.
    Full-year profit would reach about 200 million euros
compared to 172 million expected earlier and would be some 15%
higher than last year, the company said. Krka forecast a profit
of 210 million euros next year.
    Sales rose by 12% year-on-year to 1.1 billion euros and are
expected to reach 1.4 billion euros by the end of 2019 which
would be 7% higher than last year. Sales are seen at 1.5 billion
in 2020, the company said.
    "In the period of 2020 to 2024, Krka expects an average
annual sales growth of at least 5%," Krka said in a statement,
adding growth would be achieved by expanding production, forming
joint ventures and takeovers. It gave no further details.
    It said sales in Eastern Europe, Krka's largest market, rose
18% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2019 with the
highest growth seen in Ukraine with 43%. Sales in Western Europe
increased by 16%.
    Krka, Slovenia's largest listed company with market
capitalisation of some 2.3 billion euros, plans to increase the
number of its employees to more than 12,300 by the end of 2020
from 11,500 now.
    
    ($1 = 0.9032 euros)

 (Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Toby Chopra and Edmund
Blair)
 ((Marja.Novak@thomsonreuters.com; +386-1-5058805, Reuters
Messaging: marja.novak.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))