05.05.2016, 09:32
Merck Annual General Meeting 2016
OREANDA-NEWS. Merck, a leading science and technology company, has emerged stronger following fiscal 2015. At the 21st Annual General Meeting being held today in Frankfurt am Main, the company will propose to its shareholders a dividend increase of EUR 0.05 or 5% to EUR 1.05 per share. At the same time, the change in the executive chairmanship announced back in October 2015 will take effect tomorrow. Stefan Oschmann will succeed Karl-Ludwig Kley as Chairman of the Executive Board.
"At Merck, a great deal has happened. By acquiring Sigma-Aldrich, we successfully completed the portfolio realignment of the past ten years," said Kley summarizing his final year as CEO. "Our pharmaceutical research is well on its way to achieving highly promising results. The new display technologies even exceeded our own high expectations. And with our new brand, we have now become unmistakable in our external appearance."
In 2015, the Merck share price increased by 14%, thus outperforming the DAX and the relevant comparative indices. Our shares reached their annual high of
EUR 111.25 on April 10, 2015, which also represented an all-time high.
Merck completed fiscal 2015 with record figures. Sales and EBITDA pre exceptionals were higher than ever before in Merck's nearly 350-year history. Net sales of the Merck Group increased sharply by 13.0% to EUR 12.8 billion in 2015 (2014: EUR 11.4 billion). EBITDA pre exceptionals, the key financial indicator used to steer operating business, climbed 7.1% to EUR 3.6 billion. Thanks to the Life Science and Performance Materials business sectors, it was considerably higher than in the previous year (2014: EUR 3.4 billion).
Net income, i.e. profit after tax attributable to Merck shareholders, declined in 2015 by -3.7% to EUR 1.1 billion (2014: EUR 1.2 billion). This was attributable to one-time expenses in connection with the Sigma-Aldrich acquisition and integration, as well as higher interest expenses to finance the acquisition. The proposal to the Annual General Meeting will be to increase the dividend as in previous year by EUR 0.05, to EUR 1.05 per share.
Merck's net financial debt rose significantly to EUR 12.7 billion as of the end of 2015 (December 31, 2014: EUR 559 million) due to the purchase price payment for Sigma-Aldrich. As was the case following major acquisitions in the past, Merck aims to use its strong internal financing power to quickly reduce its debt.
As announced at the Annual Press Conference on March 8, 2016, Merck expects slight organic sales growth in 2016. Owing to the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, the company also expects a positive portfolio effect on sales in the low double-digit percentage range. For 2016, owing to the expected operating development and the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, Merck forecasts a low double-digit percentage increase in EBITDA pre exceptionals over the previous year. Merck will publish a more detailed forecast for 2016 when it announces its first-quarter results on May 19, 2016.
"At Merck, a great deal has happened. By acquiring Sigma-Aldrich, we successfully completed the portfolio realignment of the past ten years," said Kley summarizing his final year as CEO. "Our pharmaceutical research is well on its way to achieving highly promising results. The new display technologies even exceeded our own high expectations. And with our new brand, we have now become unmistakable in our external appearance."
In 2015, the Merck share price increased by 14%, thus outperforming the DAX and the relevant comparative indices. Our shares reached their annual high of
EUR 111.25 on April 10, 2015, which also represented an all-time high.
Merck completed fiscal 2015 with record figures. Sales and EBITDA pre exceptionals were higher than ever before in Merck's nearly 350-year history. Net sales of the Merck Group increased sharply by 13.0% to EUR 12.8 billion in 2015 (2014: EUR 11.4 billion). EBITDA pre exceptionals, the key financial indicator used to steer operating business, climbed 7.1% to EUR 3.6 billion. Thanks to the Life Science and Performance Materials business sectors, it was considerably higher than in the previous year (2014: EUR 3.4 billion).
Net income, i.e. profit after tax attributable to Merck shareholders, declined in 2015 by -3.7% to EUR 1.1 billion (2014: EUR 1.2 billion). This was attributable to one-time expenses in connection with the Sigma-Aldrich acquisition and integration, as well as higher interest expenses to finance the acquisition. The proposal to the Annual General Meeting will be to increase the dividend as in previous year by EUR 0.05, to EUR 1.05 per share.
Merck's net financial debt rose significantly to EUR 12.7 billion as of the end of 2015 (December 31, 2014: EUR 559 million) due to the purchase price payment for Sigma-Aldrich. As was the case following major acquisitions in the past, Merck aims to use its strong internal financing power to quickly reduce its debt.
As announced at the Annual Press Conference on March 8, 2016, Merck expects slight organic sales growth in 2016. Owing to the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, the company also expects a positive portfolio effect on sales in the low double-digit percentage range. For 2016, owing to the expected operating development and the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, Merck forecasts a low double-digit percentage increase in EBITDA pre exceptionals over the previous year. Merck will publish a more detailed forecast for 2016 when it announces its first-quarter results on May 19, 2016.
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