This archive is for reference only. It may not be reflective of the current situation. If you have any queries please use the contact us link.
SPIRIVA®, for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, to be a blockbuster
Ingelheim, Germany, 25 April 2001 - Boehringer Ingelheim has announced a marked increase in turnover and net income. At its annual results press conference today the company revealed that net sales have risen by 22 per cent to EUR 6.2 billion, operating income increased by 22 per cent to EUR 800 million and after-tax profit by 18 per cent to EUR 379 million.
Professor Rolf Krebs, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, said:
‘The last financial year has been wholly satisfactory for Boehringer Ingelheim. All parameters and key figures have turned out well. We expect a similar increase in turnover and net income for 2001. However, the currency effect will no longer be as strong a factor as last year. As Professor Marbod Muff, who has Corporate Board responsibility for Finance and Human Resources, explained, exchange rates contributed 11 per cent to growth in sales, while 11 per cent came from improved prices and volume and new product launches.
The company’s newly-launched products, that is to say those on the market since 1995, had developed very favourably, said Professor Krebs. Their share of the whole product portfolio had risen from 24 per cent in 1999 to 31 per cent last year. The share of products protected by patents was also growing continuously.
The company has great hopes for the launch of SPIRIVA®, a medication for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This product has blockbuster potential (i.e. sales exceeding EUR 1.0 billion a year. Only recently, Boehringer Ingelheim concluded a worldwide cooperation agreement for marketing SPIRIVA® with the US company Pfizer. The European market launch is foreseen in 2002, with the US launch following in 2003.
The therapeutic area Respiratory, at 37 per cent, has by far the largest share of Boehringer Ingelheim’s product portfolio, Dr Alessandro Banchi, who has Corporate Board responsibility for Marketing and Sales explained. The major products in this therapeutic area are ATROVENT® (EUR 650 million turnover in 2000) and COMBIVENT® (EUR 460 million). ALNA® (EUR 420 million), for benign prostatic hyperplasia, VIRAMUNE® (EUR 310 million), against HIV, and MOBIC® (EUR 230 million) a medication for rheumatic arthritis, all showed very strong growth.
Boehringer Ingelheim is a research-driven pharmaceutical company which last year spent a total of EUR 970 million, or 15.6 per cent of sales, on research and development and clinical testing. The company derives 95 per cent of its income from Human Pharmaceuticals, the remainder coming from its Animal Health business. Human Pharmaceuticals grew by 22 per cent to EUR 5.9 billion last year, while Animal Health moved ahead by 20 per cent to EUR 300 million. Within Human Pharmaceuticals the business in Prescription Medicines grew by 23 per cent to EUR 4.8 billion. The Consumer Health Care segment improved sales by more than 11 per cent to almost EUR 650 million and Biopharmaceuticals achieved very strong growth of 52 per cent to reach almost EUR 200 million.
As in previous years, the Americas Region, and the USA in particular, played the most important role in the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies, while the significance of Germany and Europe decreased further. More that 50 per cent of sales in 2000 were generated in the Americas. The USA alone contributed more than 36 per cent, or EUR 2.25 billion, to the company’s success – more than the whole Europe Region. “The reality is that European companies like Boehringer Ingelheim for the time being see their best strategic market opportunities almost exclusively in the USA,” Professor Krebs said. Boehringer Ingelheim also accomplished strong growth in Japan in 2000, clearly exceeding market growth. Sales rose by 28 per cent to 790 million euro.
In Germany, business stagnated in 2000. Sales were virtually unchanged from 1999 at EUR 600 million, which the company attributes to a streamlining of the product portfolio. Profitability, in contrast, improved distinctly. In terms of investment, Germany remains in No. 1 position in the corporation. Major investments are the new biopharmaceutical production facility at Biberach, with a total investment volume of EUR 255 million, and the new pharmaceutical ingredient plant at Ingelheim, with around EUR 180 million. The overall figure for investment in the corporation amounted last year to almost EUR 500 million.
The number of employees in Germany in 2000 was put at 8,300 by Professor Muff. That represented an increase of almost 2 per cent compared to 1999. The number of apprentices also rose by more than 5 per cent to 450 and some 90 per cent of apprentices were hired on completion of their training. The whole corporation last year had 27,300 employees, an increase of 3 per cent compared to 1999.
Contact:
Ulrich Bock
CD Public Relations
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
55216 Ingelheim
Phone: + 49 - 6132 - 772012
Fax: + 49 - 6132 - 776601
e-mail: bock@ing.boehringer-ingelheim.com
This news story was brought to you by Boehringer Ingelheim - the largest family-owned pharmaceutical company in the world.
What do you want to do now?
