OREANDA-NEWS. Protek Group (PRTK:RTS, MICEX), one of the major pharmaceutical companies in Russia operating in all the segments of the pharmaceutical market (production, distribution, and retail sales), announces its audited IFRS results for 1HY-2014.

In 1HY-2014, the Group's consolidated revenue went up by 7.1% y-o-y to RUB 71,275 mln.

The Group made a consolidated gross profit of RUB 8,797 mln., driving the gross margin to 12.3%.

The Group's consolidated EBITDA amounted to RUB 1,856 mln., with EBITDA margin reaching 2.6%.

The Group's consolidated EBITDA adjusted for contingencies and one-off events was RUB 1,998 mln., with adjusted EBITDA margin standing at 2.8%.

Mr Vadim Muzyaev, President of Protek Group, has commented on the 1HY-2014 financial results: “A more than 7% increase in the Group's consolidated revenue is in line with the growth rate shown by the Russian pharmaceutical market in 1HY-2014. The Production Segment did well boosting its revenue by 13.7%. Going forward we see considerable potential in this segment, which can be driven by improving product portfolio and expanding production capacities. The Retail Segment also performed to the upside in 1HY-2014, increasing its revenue by 17.3%. The segment continues to grow organically (+82 pharmacies in 1HY-2014), Rigla pharmacy chain is ranking first among largest Russian peers**. The Distribution Segment revenue growth was 5.1%, while 1HY-2014 results enabled CV Protek to climb back to the top of the IMS direct sales ranking**. On the backdrop of moderating market growth (+7% in 1HY-2014) and strengthening of price competition, Distribution Segment keeps on further improvement of product range and reducing operating costs."

Mr Vitaliy Smerdov, CEO of Sotex, has remarked: “In 1HY-2014, the Production Segment revenue rose by 13.7% y-o-y driven mainly by sales of proprietary products, as well as medicines from the psychoneurosis line marketed under a new large-scale arrangement with Sanofi.”