Merck KGaA Invests In Innovations For Future Growth
Merck KGaA Invests in Innovations for Future Growth
Frankfurt, Germany, May 9, 2014 – Following the conclusion of a record - breaking 2013, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading company for innovative and top - quality high - tech products in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, is planning to invest in innovations to ensure operational growth in 2014 and the years to come. "2013 was an excellent year for us - all four d ivisions were successful," Executive Board Chairman Karl - Ludwig Kley said today at the Annual General Meeting in Frankfurt. "As part of our ‘Fit for 2018’ transformation and growth program the focus of the next two years will be on growth. We are aiming fo r both organic and inorganic growth." To accomplish this, in - licensing agreements in p harmaceuticals and planned investments of around € 100 million in the b iosimilars business are just as feasible as acquisitions. The acquisition of the high - tech material producer AZ Electronic Materials, which was completed last week, is a first step here, according to Kley. As of the night before, the acceptance level amounted to 97.8 percent of the AZ share capital.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, has set itself the goal of maintaining both sales as well as EBITDA pre one - time items at a stable level in 2014. T his calls for the further growth of operating business, since declining royalty, license and commission income will lower EBITDA pre one - time items by more than € 100 million, Kley told shareholders. This forecast does not include effects from the AZ Elect ronic Materials acquisition. Merck KGaA will publish a detailed forecast for 2014 when it announces its first - quarter results on May 15.
For fiscal 2013, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, reported solid organic sales growth of 4.2% to € 10.7 billion. Thanks to the accelerated implementation of efficiency measures, EBITDA pre one - time items increased by 9.7% to a record € 3.3 billion. Net income more than doubled to € 1.2 billion.
To allow shareholders to benefit from this record result, Merck KGaA, Darmsta dt, Germany, proposed to the Annual General Meeting an increase of € 0.20 in the dividend to € 1.90. This increase of 12% takes into account that the Group is still in a period of transformation, Kley explained. Owing to the persistently high share price, Merck KGaA additionally proposed a 2:1 share split to raise the liquidity of its shares and make them even more attractive to private investors.
At this year's Annual General Meeting, the eight shareholder representatives also stood for election. Merck ha d proposed the following candidates for a five - year term of office:
Wolfgang Büchele , designated CEO of Linde AG and member of the Merck Supervisory Board since July 1, 2009, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board;
Michaela Freifrau von Glenck , teacher, mem ber of Merck KGaA’s Supervisory Board since March 28, 2008;
Albrecht Merck , Commercial Director of the Castel Peter Winery, member of Merck KGaA’s Supervisory Board since January 1, 2005;
Helga Rübsamen - Schaeff , Managing Director of AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG;
Gregor Schulz , Chairman of the Board of Biotest AG, and
Theo Siegert , Managing Partner of de Haen Carstanjen & Söhne, member of Merck KGaA’s Supervisory Board since June 30, 2006.
Siegfried Karjetta and Tobias Thelen were appointed to the Supervisory Board of Merck KGaA by E. Merck Beteiligungen KG as representatives of the Merck family.
Rolf Krebs , a member of the Supervisory Board since June 30, 2006 and Chairman since July 23, 2009, did not stand for election , n or did Johannes Baillou, Frank Binder or H ans - Jürgen Leuchs.
Furthermore, the eight employee representatives, namely Crocifissa Attardo, Mechthild Auge, Gabriele Eismann, Michael Fletterich a nd Alexander Putz, Dietmar Oeter, Edeltraud Glänzer , and Karl - Heinz Scheider, had already been elected to the Supervisory Board in April.
All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, press releases are distributed by e - mail at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo - targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.
About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, is a leading company for innovative and top - quality high - tech products in the pharmaceutical and chemical se ctors. Its subsidiaries in Canada and the United States operate under the umbrella brand EMD. Around 38,000 employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to further the success of customers and to help meet global challenges. The company generated total revenues of € 11.1 billion in 2013 with its four divisions: Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Performance Materials and Life Science Tools. Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany is the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical co mpany – since 1668, the name has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70 percent interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day.
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