Schwarz' 1st-half net profit falls 30%

German drugmaker Schwarz Pharma, which is now owned by Belgian drug and chemicals firm UCB, says that net earnings for the first six months of the year fell 30% to 26.1 million euros ($35.7 million), corresponding to earnings of 0.80 euros per share.

The firm attributed the income decline to a 5.7% drop in sales to 455.8 million euros, citing poor performance in the German market, particularly following the termination of a license agreement for the gastrointestinal drug Rifun (pantoprazole) by the licensee (Marketletters passim), as a key factor. Overall, European revenues were down 4.9% to 243.4 million euros, while US turnover fell 8.3% to 192.2 million euros. Conversely, the contribution from the firm's Asian affiliates increased 13.7% to 20.2 million euros.

Outlook for the full-year