Merck KGaA's 2nd-qtr profit surges up 113%

Darmstadt, Germany-headqurtered Merck KGaA says that its second-quarter 2006 sales rose 4.5% on the comparable period last year, to 1.52 billion euros, in line with analysts' consensus forecast, as its ethical drug business and liquid crystals unit made the largest contributions to growth.

The firm's net income surged up 112.9% to 528.5 million euros, or 2.77 euros per share, beating Lehman Brothers analysts estimated 2.64 euros per share. During the period, Merck's operating result rose 24% to 252.0 million euros due to good business development and cost control measures rather than large one-off payments.

Pharmaceuticals sales inched up 4.4% to 1.01 billion euros, as the units' operating result climbed 10% to 120.0 million euros. Revenues from the anticancer drug Erbitux (cetuximab), which Merck licenses from its New York, USA-based originator ImClone System, soared 56% to 81.0 million euros, boosted by the European Union approval of in late March for a new indication of head and neck cancer. Merck's emerging generic drug business increased its operating result 7.8% to 75.0 million.