Pharmaceuticals | Total revenues by division – Q3
The pharmaceutical, chemical and life science businesses of Merck are organized into two business sectors – Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals – each of which consists of two divisions.
The Pharmaceuticals business sector’s divisions are Merck Serono for innovative prescription medicines and Consumer Health Care for over-the-counter pharmaceutical products. The Pharmaceuticals business sector generated 63% of the Group’s total revenues during the third quarter. Total revenues for the Pharmaceuticals business sector increased by 5.5% to € 1,602 million during the third quarter.
The Pharmaceuticals business sector was affected by increased cost of sales for the Merck Serono division due to negative currency effects – mainly the strong Swiss franc – plus a negative product mix, start-up costs for the new biotech production plant in Switzerland and higher research and development expenses. As a result, the Pharmaceuticals business sector’s third-quarter operating result declined 15% to € 191 million from € 226 million in the year-ago quarter.