(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Darmstadt, August 14 – The German group Merck (chemicals, pharmaceuticals) closed the second quarter with an EBITDA net of extraordinary items up by 13.9% to 746.6 million, better than the 706 million forecast by analysts, but with a net loss of 60.5 million against -86.8 million a year earlier, more than the market forecast. The loss, the company specifies in a note, is due to charges of 376 million linked to the reorganization plan with savings of 300 million by 2014 announced in May for the pharmaceutical division. Turnover grew in the quarter by 11.6% to 2.85 billion. Sales of Rebif (multiple sclerosis) and Erbitux (antitumor), the best performing products, grew more than expected and the weakness of the euro supported overseas sales. Merck was optimistic for the rest of 2012 and raised its targets for the current year to 10.7 billion for turnover (10.5 billion previously) and to 2.85-2.95 billion for current ebitda (2.8-2.9 billion). Merck shares rose by 4.23% to 85.99 euros on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
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(RADIOCOR) 14-08-12 12:17:24 (0154) 5 NNNN 
