Slovakofarma Profits Continue To Rise

Slovakofarma, the largest drugs producer in the Slovak Republic, hasrecorded net profits of 406 million Slovak koruna ($11.7 million) for the first six months of 1997, a rise of 4.9% compared with the same period in 1996, according to the CTK news agency.

The company has also registered revenues of nearly 2.2 billion koruna for the first half of the year, with domestic sales accounting for over 30% of its turnover, totaling 772 million koruna. Exports reached 1.47 billion koruna, of which just over 1 billion koruna was to the Czech Republic.

While planning to broaden its product range and reduce debts, the company is also aiming to raise share capital by selling global depository receipts on international markets (Marketletter June 2). In June, the company increased its share capital from 1.45 billion koruna to 1.52 billion koruna, increasing its total equity to over 3 billion koruna. With majority stakes in Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian and Polish companies, the company's shares are among the most expensive stocks on the Bratislava Stock Exchange.