Slovakofarma: A Credible Investment Opportunity

Several strategic decisions taken by management in the early 1990s and agood performance in the past two years means that the Slovakian pharmaceutical company Slovakofarma stands out as one of the most profitable central European drug manufacturers, according to Credit Suisse First Boston's pharmaceuticals analyst Juraj Kovac. He says that it also makes the firm one of the few credible investment opportunities in the ailing Slovak equity market.

In the past two years, sales at the company have risen 32% and net income has increased 46%. Slovakofarma's share price had risen 130% to 4,250 koruna ($130.90) on May 7, having hit a high of 5,200 koruna earlier this year.

In 1996, the firm achieved net profits of 554 million koruna ($17 million), an increase of 15%, on revenues of 4.9 billion koruna, a rise of 20.4%, according to the CTK news agency's Business News. Domestic turnover was 2.2 billion koruna, and exports amounted to 688 million koruna.