Latest news with #MerckKGaA
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Merck Is Latest Drugmaker to Weigh Direct US Patient Sales
Merck KGaA is considering selling medicines directly to patients in the US, joining drugmakers seeking to bypass middlemen following President Donald Trump's demand for lower drug prices in the country. 'The direct-to-patient sales in the US is an option,' Chief Executive Officer Belen Garijo said on a call with journalists Thursday. 'We have not yet started to put that in practice and it will depend on the products we are talking about.'
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Merck KGaA is looking into direct distribution to U.S. patients
FRANKFURT, Aug 7 (Reuters) - German drugmaker Merck KGaA ( opens new tab on Thursday joined peers in saying it was considering distribution models that serve U.S. patients directly if the government goes ahead with plans to slash drug prices to align with lower levels in other countries. President Donald Trump has ramped up efforts to cut prescription drug prices through a "most-favored-nation" (MFN) policy, aiming to align domestic prices with the lowest levels paid by comparable high-income countries. "Direct-to-patient sales is an option in our plans if MFN is implemented," CEO Belen Garijo said in a media call after the release of quarterly results. "There is a significant cost burden associated (with) the distribution of medicines in the U.S., so anything that we can do to alleviate the burden to the patient is something that we will contemplate," she added.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Net profit up in second quarter for German tech firm Merck KGaA
Net profit rose in the second quarter compared to the same period of the previous year for German science and technology company Merck KGaA, the company reported on Thursday. Although Merck reported higher net profit, it had lower earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a key earnings metric, and margin amid weak net sales over the same period. Looking ahead, for fiscal 2025, Merck raised its guidance for EBITDA pre and now expects organic growth of 4% to 8%, compared to the previously expected 2% to 7%. The change was driven by positive guidance adjustments for life science and health care as well as high cost discipline in all business sectors. The company also raised expectations for life science and health-care EBITDA pre. Meanwhile, the company trimmed the higher end of its organic sales growth target range for the group to 2% to 5% from the previously expected 2% to 6%. In the second quarter, net profit grew 8.3% to €655 million ($765 million) from the previous year's €605 million. Earnings per share improved 7.1% to €1.50 from €1.40. Earnings per share pre amounted to €2.02, compared with €2.20 in the year-earlier quarter. EBITDA dropped 8.5% from last year to €1.35 billion, and the EBITDA margin declined to 25.6% from 27.5%. EBITDA pre was €1.46 billion, down 3.1% from €1.51 billion in the previous year. The EBITDA margin was 27.8%, down from 28.2% over the same period. Group net sales declined 1.8% to €5.26 billion from €5.35 billion, mainly due to negative foreign exchange effects of 4.2%. Net sales increased 2% organically despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
European shares tick higher with tariffs, BoE meeting in focus
Aug 7 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher on Thursday, with corporate earnings in full swing, while higher U.S. tariff rates on dozens of partners kicked in ahead of the Bank of England's monetary policy meeting. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab rose 0.2%, as of 0715 GMT, with most major regional bourses trading in the green. Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab was down 0.2%, while Switzerland's benchmark SMI index (.SSMI), opens new tab was up 0.1%. U.S. President Donald Trump's higher tariffs kicked in on Thursday, including a 39% rate on Switzerland. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday after failing to meet with Trump or any top trade officials, a source told Reuters. The Bank of England is widely expected to announce a quarter-point interest rate cut at its meeting later in the day but policymakers could be split on the outlook with worries about rising inflation. On the day, telecommunication stocks (.SXKP), opens new tab were under pressure falling 2.2%, with Freenet AG ( opens new tab and DT Telekom ( opens new tab down 8.5% and 5.2%, respectively, after quarterly results. Among individual stocks, Maersk ( opens new tab rose 5.3%, with the shipping group raised its full-year profit outlook on global demand for ocean container freight. Merck KGaA ( opens new tab fell 3% after narrowing its guidance range for organic sales and posting a lower second-quarter adjusted EBITDA due to a weaker dollar. Rheinmetall ( opens new tab was the top decliner on the index, falling 5.2%, after the German defence company missed second-quarter sales expectations partially due to a delay in German defence contracts being awarded.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Merck KGaA raises forex-adj profit guidance on drugs, lab gear
FRANKFURT Aug 7 (Reuters) - Germany's Merck KGaA ( opens new tab on Thursday raised its full-year operating earnings guidance, excluding the effect of harsh foreign exchange headwinds, citing a strong performance at its pharmaceuticals and lab equipment businesses. In a statement, Merck predicted organic growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, adjusted for one-off items, of 4% to 8%, where it had previously seen a range between 2% and 7%. Cost cuts were also a driver, it added. Hit by a weak U.S. dollar that is weighing on the value of Merck's overseas revenues, second-quarter adjusted EBITDA slipped 3% to 1.46 billion euros ($1.70 billion), below an analyst consensus of 1.52 billion posted on the company's website. The company, also a maker of materials for semiconductor manufacturing, narrowed its guidance range for organic sales growth to 2% to 5%, where it had previously seen a gain of 2% to 6%. Merck in April struck a deal to buy U.S. biotech company SpringWorks Therapeutics for $3.9 billion to add rare cancer therapies ahead of expected revenue losses linked to expiring drug patents. ($1 = 0.8568 euros)
