Japanese drugmaker Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co has posted an 11% increase in sales for the nine-month period ended December 31, while net income soared over 106%.
Revenues reached 297.6 billion yen, or around $2.79 billion, while net profit was 24 billion yen, which the firm said was partly due to partly due to 7.5 billion yen in extraordinary income from the sale of fixed assets. Pharmaceutical sales were driven by the anti-allergy drug Allelock (olopatadine) and the anticancer agent Navelbine (vinorelbine), though this was offset by lower revenues from Coniel (benidipine), for the treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris.
Kyowa Hakko’s chief executive Yuzuru Matsuda said that sales grew in each of the firm’s business segments, particularly chemicals business. As a result, the company now expects fiscal 2008 earnings of 26 billion yen and sales of 395 billion yen, up from previous estimates.
Kyowa Hakko is currently merging its pharmaceutical business with Kirin Group which will see the latter take a near-28% stake in the former in a deal valued at $2.7 billion. Mr Matsuda added that the integration of the businesses is “proceeding smoothly and on schedule”.
