Schwartz Pharma boosted by US sales

First-quarter 2005 revenues for Germany's Schwarz Pharma Group increased 5.3% to 238.2 million euros ($309.4 million). Operating income improved to 30.4 million euros, from 6.8 million euros in the like, year-earlier period and net income more than doubled to 1.1 million euros, helped by new accounting rules and US sales, the company said.

The US business posted sales of 107.8 million euros for the quarter, a rise of 12.5%. Adjusted for the firm's ulcer drug omeprazole (now off-patent), turnover grew 68.8% to 57.4 million euros in the USA. Schwarz said that there was a recovery for the cardiovascular agent Univasc (moexipril) after Teva Pharmaceutical ceased sales of its generic version of the drug. It also noted that, while Verelan PM (verapamil) benefited in the prior year from the timing of customer orders, it did not repeat the previous performance, although Uniretic (moexipril and hydrochlorothiazide) revenues remained strong.

European turnover declined 1.6% to 121.5 million euros, impacted by drastic government interventions on pricing in a number of countries, said Schwarz. In Germany, sales declined 4.2% to 50.7 million euros, mainly due to the termination of the Hoyer-Madaus joint venture in urology at the end of 2004.