Merck KGaA sees 3rd-qtr income slip 20.5% to 144M euros, despite 5% sales hike

German drugmaker Merck KGaA says that its income for the third quarter of 2006 was 144.0 million euros ($180.8 million), or 0.76 euros per share, down 20.5% on the comparable quarter last year. The firm said that the decline was due to the impact of two one-time charges, specifically,13.0 million euros resulting from the closure of its generics manufacturing plant in the UK, and a 34.0 million-euro impairment on production equipment and inventories following its decision to exit from the chemical pigments market.

5% sales growth, with Erbitux up 46%

Despite the drop in earnings, Merck reported revenues of 1.54 billion euros, up 5%. The company explained that the growth was a result of the improved performance across all of its business operations, adding that its pharmaceuticals and generics divisions contributed 1.03 billion euros and 456.0 million euros, up 7.3% and 6.4%, respectively, to its revenues for the quarter.