Kyowa's fiscal 2009 sales jump 17.4%

Japanese drugmaker Kyowa Hakko Kirin's sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2009, jumped 17.4% year-on-year to 460.1 billion yen ($4.65  billion), as operating income rose 15.2% to 45.3 billion yen.

Recurring income increased 22.2% to 46.4 billion yen. Net income  decreased by 50% to 11.7 billion yen, on extraordinary losses of 21.5  billion yen due to valuation deficits on investment securities,  impairments and other factors. Operating income in the drugs segment  grew 74.5%, thanks to the consolidation of Kirin Pharma in April 2008,  while in biochemicals sector, operating income was hit by the strong yen  and fell 13.9%. In the chemicals unit, operating income declined to  break-even as the global economic downturn resulted in a drop in  demand.