Switzerland's Serono Reports Strong 2004 Results

Swiss biotechnology major Serono has reported solid full-year results for 2004, although fourth quarter figures indicate a slowdown in earnings. In 2004, net income increased 26.7 percent year-on-year to US$494.2mn, while fourth quarter profit declined 19.6 percent to US$89.7mn. The company earmarked some 24.2 percent of total revenues, or US$594.8mn, for R&D in the year.

Breaking the performance down, sales on Serono's blockbuster multiple sclerosis treatment Rebif (interferon beta-1a) surged by a third in the year to US$1.09bn. Reproductive treatment Gonal (follitropin alpha) also performed strongly in all markets except Germany, where pricing pressures affected results. While sales revenue expanded by roughly 20 percent in the US and the rest of the world, EU sales rose only 12.3 percent to US$895.2mn in 2004.