Gedeon Richter Performance in Line with Annual Plans

Gedeon Richter Plc.'s performance in the first half of the year was in line with its annual plans, so it has not changed its expectations for this year, CEO Gábor Orbán said at a press conference following the flash report on Wednesday in Budapest.

He said that, excluding exchange rate effects, they expect growth of around 10% in both revenue and adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) this year.

He added that they had closed a favorable quarter, with pharmaceutical manufacturing accounting for 98% of sales revenue. Pharmaceutical manufacturing sales revenue grew by 11% to HUF 237.5 billion in the second quarter, resulting in an 11% increase to HUF 458 billion in sales revenue for the first half of the year.

The gynecology segment's performance accelerated significantly, growing by 19% in the second quarter, with six-month sales increasing by 12.9% to HUF 168.8 billion. Most of the growth came from Western and Eastern European markets, with all key therapeutic segments (infertility, menopause and endometriosis treatment) achieving double-digit growth in both the second quarter and the first half of the year, and even contraception recording higher sales compared to the same period last year.

Revenues in the generic drugs segment grew by 7.7% to exceed HUF 130 billion, with growth slowing in the second quarter due to the high base and weaker volumes, he noted. Research and development expenditures increased by 8% and accounted for 11% of sales revenue in the first half of this year.