Surge In Exports At Egis In First Quarter

The Hungarian pharmaceutical company Egis recorded gross profit of 1.8billion forint ($10.1 million) in the first three months of 1997, on net sales of 6.9 billion forint.

Exports were 3.4 billion forint, an increase of 62.8% on the 1996 first quarter. Expressed in dollar terms, the rise was 35%. The growth was attributed to an increase of over 50% in exports to the Commonwealth of Independent States in dollar terms, and the introduction of Tensiomin (captopril) in the UK.

Domestic sales, in contrast, fell by 13.3%. This could have been due to drug wholesalers accumulating large stocks of drugs last year in expectation of a sharp increase in prices in the first three months of 1997, reports MTI Econews.