Merck KGaA: first-quarter earnings hit by FX factors
(CercleFinance.com) - German drugs-to-chemicals maker Merck KGaA has said that its earnings fell over the first three months of the year, burdened by negative FX factors.
EBITDA pre, the company's most important earnings indicator, declined by 18.2% to 1 billion euros in the first quarter, while net sales decreased by 4.4% to 3.7 billion euros.
The US dollar - which considerably fell relative to a year ago - resulted in a negative exchange rate impact of 7.9%, the group said.
Merck also said that the market environment in the liquid crystals sector continues to be "difficult."
Organically, sales increased by 3.5%, driven by the healthcare and life science businesses, the firm said.
Merck - which is in the midst of divesting its consumer health business - confirmed that 2018 would be a "transition year."
In its statement, Merck said it continues to expect moderate organic net sales growth of between 3% and 5% this year.
The shares were down 5.3% in Frankfurt after the report.
Copyright (c) 2018 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
EBITDA pre, the company's most important earnings indicator, declined by 18.2% to 1 billion euros in the first quarter, while net sales decreased by 4.4% to 3.7 billion euros.
The US dollar - which considerably fell relative to a year ago - resulted in a negative exchange rate impact of 7.9%, the group said.
Merck also said that the market environment in the liquid crystals sector continues to be "difficult."
Organically, sales increased by 3.5%, driven by the healthcare and life science businesses, the firm said.
Merck - which is in the midst of divesting its consumer health business - confirmed that 2018 would be a "transition year."
In its statement, Merck said it continues to expect moderate organic net sales growth of between 3% and 5% this year.
The shares were down 5.3% in Frankfurt after the report.
Copyright (c) 2018 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.