Richter Gedeon's 2006 net sales up 21.3%

Hungarian drugmaker Richter Gedeon says that its full-year 2006 consolidated sales totaled 209.42 billion forint ($1.07 billion), a 21.3% rise on the previous year. The group's net profit reached 52.10 billoin forint, up 15%, as diluted earnings per share also rose 15%, to 2,795 forint per share. Operating profit surged 26.8% to 50.20 billion forint. Domestic sales fell 4% to 54.83 billion forint as exports jumped 33.9% to 154.59 billion forint. The Commonwealth of Independent States was the largest area of business growth and the biggest contributor to export sales, with income from this region up 50.7% to 65.60 billion forint. Exports to the USA jumped 31.7% to 19.11 billion forint, while sales to the European Union rose 20.5% to 47.70 billion forint.