German major Merck KGaA (ETR: MRK) this week released its 2024 annual report, highlighting a mixed performance across its business segments. The company reported global revenues up 2.0% year-on-year (YoY) in organic terms to EUR 21.16 billion (USD 2.3 billion). The Healthcare unit drove growth, while the Life Sciences segment faced challenges.
Healthcare Unit Growth
The Healthcare unit generated EUR 8.5 billion (USD 9.2 billion) after a 7% YoY rise, fueled by reduced research and development expenses and cost savings. The Oncology franchise led the growth, with net sales increasing to EUR 2.0 billion (USD 2.2 billion, +12.7%), driven by Erbitux’s 15.7% expansion. The Neurology & Immunology franchise also showed resilience, reporting sales of EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.8 billion), up 2.3% YoY, with Mavenclad for multiple sclerosis growing by 12.3% to EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.2 billion). The Fertility and Cardiovascular, Metabolism & Endocrinology franchises contributed EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.6 billion) and EUR 2.9 billion (USD 3.1 billion), respectively, marking increases of 0.8% and 8.5%.
Life Sciences and Electronics Segments
The Life Sciences segment dropped 3.3% YoY to EUR 8.9 billion (USD 9.6 billion), affected by customer destocking and a decline in demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, the Electronics segment expanded by 4.6% YoY to EUR 3.8 billion (USD 4.1 billion).-Fineline Info & Tech
