BERLIN — The German chemical and pharmaceutical group Merck posted Monday a sharp drop in first quarter profit owing to weak results from the chemicals side, but said the worst was over for the sector.
In the first three months of the year, Merck saw net profit plunge by 76.3 percent on an annualised basis to 56.7 million euros (74.8 million dollars), a statement said.
Sales were relatively stable however, losing just 0.2 percent on the year to 1.85 billion euros.
Revenue from chemical activities lost 22 percent to 436 million euros, while the pharmaceutical division showed a 9.7 percent gain to 1.42 billion euros.
Merck chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley said that with respect to the group's liquid crystal activities, which have been hit hard by the global economic crisis, "we are convinced we reached the bottom in the first quarter."
The company, which employs 32,700 people worldwide, issued a full-year outlook, with revenues expected to increase by "between zero and five percent," this year.
Kley said that "the fog obscuring the future has now lifted enough" to come up with a forecast.
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