Economic development of Merck 

Merck largely met the guidance it provided at the beginning of the year in an environment that continually worsened.

With the publication of the Annual Report for 2007, we forecast an increase in total Group revenues in a range between 5% and 9%. We met this objective in 2008: Total revenues increased by 7.1% to € 7,558 million.

We predicted that total revenues of the Pharmaceuticals business sector would rise by between 7% and 11%. In 2008, the business sector achieved an 11% increase in total revenues to € 5,428 million.

In February 2008, Merck expected that total revenues in the Chemicals business sector would grow in a range between 5% and 7%. Owing to negative currency effects and the worsening economic situation, we could not achieve this objective: Total revenues declined by 1.3% to € 2,123 million; on a currency-adjusted basis they increased by 4.7%.

The operating result rose by 16%, matching our forecast of double-digit growth. For the Pharmaceuticals business sector, we expected a high double-digit rise in the operating result. Here we achieved an increase of 57%. In February 2008, we assumed that the earnings contribution from the Chemicals business sector would remain stable. Since we supply our specialty chemicals to some extent to sectors that are sensitive to economic cycles, we sustained a decline of 12%.