By Natascha Divac
FRANKFURT--Germany's Bayer AG is forecasting strong sales and
earnings growth at its health-care division in the next three
years, pegging the yearly sales potential of its top drugs at
EUR7.5 billion ($8 billion).
The Leverkusen-based company, which is preparing to spin off its
high-tech plastics business, said on Wednesday that combined sales
of its top drugs--the anticoagulant Xarelto, the eye medicine
Eylea, the cancer drugs Stivarga and Xofigo, and the pulmonary
hypertension drug Adempas--should rise toward EUR4 billion in this
year
Bayer said it aims to increase health-care revenue by an average
of about 6% a year through 2017 to more than EUR25 billion.
At the same time, Bayer said it expects profitability to
improve. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization, before special items, should rise to between 29% and
31% of revenue from 27.5% in 2014.
"The outlook for our health care business is particularly
positive thanks to the five pharmaceutical products we recently
launched," said Chief Executive Marijn Dekkers.
Under Mr. Dekkers, Bayer is refocusing on its core health-care
and crop-science activities. The company said it plans to float the
material-sciences division on the stock market by mid-2016 at the
latest.
As part of the new focus, Bayer acquired Merck & Co.'s
over-the-counter business for $14.2 billion last last year. That
acquisition, along with Bayer's purchase last year of China's Dihon
Pharmaceutical Group Ltd., allowed it to surpass U.S.-based Johnson
& Johnson as the second place leader in the global OTC market,
the company has said.
With the Merck acquisition, Bayer, perhaps best known for its
trademark Aspirin, has added popular OTC brands like Claritin and
Coppertone to its portfolio.
Last month, Bayer reported a 51% drop in net profit for the
fourth quarter of 2014, weighed down by higher research and
development and selling costs.
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