Pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) Tuesday set a downbeat tone for 2012, saying its recently launched cost-cutting program and tough economic conditions will weigh on profits this year. The German conglomerate expects a slight rise in total revenue this year. It also foresees a rise in earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization before special items, but it didn’t rule out a fall in operating profit due to one-time effects of its cost-cutting program, first announced last spring. Germany’s Merck, like other medicine makers, is being pressured by healthcare reforms in the U.S. and downward pressure on drug prices in Europe as cash-strapped governments move to cut their healthcare bills.
