Richter Gedeon sales climb 24% for 2000

Richter Gedeon of Hungary has posted full-year 2000 net income of 19.36billion forint ($68.5 million), up 16.4% on 1999, while sales jumped 24.4% to 74.11 billion forint. The company noted that exports in 2000 were up 14.7% to $189.5 million, buoyed by a strong recovery in the Commonwealth of Independent States markets, where turnover jumped 27.3% to $72.3 million. Revenues from Russia, a key area for Richter, increased 34% to $52.9 million, while sales to western markets were some 2.5% higher at $73.7 million.

Domestic sales flat

Domestic sales were stagnant at 20.48 billion forint, however, which Richter says was primarily due to a delay in the signing of an agreement on pharmaceutical price increases between the government and Hungary's drugmakers. Nevertheless, the company said that it is happy with the progress it made in 2000, thanks to generally improving economic conditions and "an increase in purchasing power together with the positive achievements of our sales and marketing teams."