Richter Gedeon Posts Strong Nine-Month Growth

Hungarian drug producer Richter Gedeon has posted a strong rise inearnings and sales for the first nine months of 1997 compared to the corresponding period last year. Net profits were up 54.6% to 13.95 billion forint ($70.9 million), operating profits grew to 11.19 billion forint, a rise of 58.9%, while turnover reached 37.96 billion forint, an increase of 42%, according to MTI Econews.

Slow Export Growth In 4th Qtr Exports increased 42.7% to 26.82 billion forint, or in dollar terms, 19% to $146.9 million, although Richter's chief executive Erik Bogsch told a press conference that the company expected slower growth in exports by the fourth quarter of 1997. Looking at the next few years, however, Mr Bogsch claimed that exports were expected to grow at a rate in the region of 10% to 15%.

Domestic sales rose 30%, while the company's share of the Hungarian market increased from 9.8% in the first nine months of 1996 to 10.6%. Richter also noted that it spent the equivalent of 7% of its turnover on R&D, amounting to approximately 2.5 billion forint. The company's total assets were worth 74.36 billion forint, compared with 43.98 billion forint in the same period last year.