Germany's Merck KGaA profit rockets in 3rd qtr on recovery from Serono acquisition

Germany's Merck KGaA posted a more than four-fold increase in net profit for the third quarter of the year, compared to the same period of the year before, as results recovered from the acquisition of Swiss biotechnology company Serono.

Revenue was up by 9% to 1.89 billion euros ($2.35 billion). R&D spending rose 13% to 285.0 million euros, mainly due to increased costs for clinical trials. Net profit surged to 200.1 million euros, or 0.93 euros per share, versus 36.2 million euros, or 0.13 euros per share.

The firm noted that the figure from the year before included 183.3 million euros in exceptional costs, mainly from the Serono buy. The core operating result, which excludes amortization of intangible assets and Merck Serono integration costs, was 462.0 million euros, or 1.54 euros per share, a decrease of 2.9%.