Merck KGaA (FRA: MRK) has reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2024, showing a 1.7% increase in global net sales to €5.4 billion (USD 5.9 billion) over the three-month period. The company’s performance varied by business segment, with Life Science experiencing a decline of 3.7% year-on-year in constant exchange rate terms to €2.258 billion. In contrast, Healthcare saw growth of 5.3% year-on-year, reaching €2.137 billion, and Electronics expanded by 7.6% to €957 million.
The Life Sciences segment has been impacted by challenging macroeconomic conditions, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region during Q2’24. Despite this, the Healthcare business found growth drivers in key products such as Erbitux (cetuximab) for colorectal and head and neck cancer, which saw sales increase by 8.2% to €276 million; Mavenclad (cladribine) for multiple sclerosis, with a 6.5% year-on-year rise to €266 million; and Glucophage (metformin) for type 2 diabetes, benefiting from a 23.5% year-on-year global sales increase to €238 million due to the recovery in the Chinese market following the easing of pandemic restrictions.
In response to these results, Merck has raised its forecast for the Group as well as for the Healthcare and Electronics business sectors. For the full 12-month period, the group anticipates net sales to range from €20.7 billion to €22.1 billion, with organic growth projected between +2% to +5%.- Flcube.com
