Takeda's recurring profit down 70%

Japanese drug giant Takeda says that profit before tax and exceptional items in the six months ended September 30, 2008, fell 69.7% year-on-year to 100.98 billion yen ($1.02 billion) on the back of expenses related to its $8.8 billion takeover of Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Marketletter April 14).

Despite the large fall, the firm's profit was better than its own prediction of 65.0 billion yen and, on the day the results were announced, November 4, shares in the firm jumped 5.2% to 5,080 yen. During the period, the Osaka-based company said net income plummetted to 71.79 billion yen from 218.01 billion yen in the like, year-ago period.

However, net sales improved 12% to 807.14 billion yen, as the negative impact of foreign exchange fluctuations was offset by the inclusion of revenues from Millennium and TAP, Takeda's US joint venture with Abbott Laboratories that was dissolved earlier in the year (Marketletter March 31).