Schwarz Pharma's revenue up 4.6% in 2005

German drugmaker Schwarz Pharma says that it achieved sales revenue of 990.6 million euros ($1.17 billion) for 2005, a 4.6% increase on the previous year, but falling short of analysts prediction of 1.0 billion euros for the period. The firm also reported that its acquisition of exclusive rights to the Parkinson's disease patch Neupro (rotigotine) from its development partner, the US group Aderis Pharmaceutical, cost it 54.1 million euros.

Schwarz achieved profits of 672.6 million in the fiscal year 2005, an increase of 8.5%, which it attributes to higher earnings contributions from its high-margin products like the resurgent cardiovascular drug Univasc (moexipril), which increased in sales following Teva Pharmaceuticals, decision to stop selling its generic version of the drug.

US sales of the company's generic omeprazole, which it makes available through its USA-based affiliate KUDCo, reached 184.2 million euros, a drop of 19.6% despite still exceeding Lehman Brothers prediction of 179.0 million euros for the year. Analysts at the broker said they were "pleasantly surprised" by the firm's proposed annual dividend of 0.20 euros per share.