Admin I Friday, August 02, 2024
BERLIN – German science and technology company Merck reported Thursday that its second-quarter profit after income tax dropped 14.3% to €605 million ($652 million) from last year’s €706 million.
Net sales for the quarter edged up 0.9% to €5.35 billion from last year’s €5.3 billion, driven by demand for cancer drugs.
The DAX-listed company also benefited from a recovery in semiconductor materials for applications in the booming business with artificial intelligence, with sales in the Semiconductor Solutions division rising by a double-digit percentage.
By contrast, Merck once again had to cope with declining sales in the laboratory supplies business, where customers are holding back on orders and reducing inventories following the end of the coronavirus boom.
Overall, the adjusted operating profit (EBITDA pre) fell by 2.9% to around €1.5 billion.
Looking ahead for fiscal 2024, Merck maintains its outlook, which was revised on July 27, for the Group as well as for the healthcare and electronics business sectors.
The company now expects earnings per share pre to be about €8.20 to €9.30, higher than the prior view of €8.05 to €9.10.
EBITDA pre is now expected to be about €5.8 billion to €6.4 billion, representing organic growth of 4% to 10%. Previously, the company expected EBITDA pre of between €5.7 billion and €6.3 billion for the year.
Net sales are now expected in a range of around €20.7 billion to €22.1 billion, with organic growth of 2% to 5%. The prior view was €20.6 billion to €22.1 billion.
