Merck KGaA Slips To Loss In Q2; Trims FY11 Profit Forecast

German drug manufacturer Merck KGaA reported Wednesday that its second-quarter net loss attributable to the company was €85.9 million or €0.40 per share, compared to prior year's profit of €183.4 million or €0.84 per share.

Core earnings per share, which excluded certain one-time items, declined 39.7% to €0.94 from €1.56 last year.

Total revenues increased 15.7% to €2.56 billion from €2.21 billion a year ago.

For the quarter, core operating result declined from last year, while underlying core operating result grew to €548 million from €501 million in 2010.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2011, the company now projects total revenues will increase to between €10 billion and €10.4 billion. The group operating result for 2011 is expected to amount to about €1 billion, which is below the guidance given in April primarily due to the many one-time adjustments.
The company's previous forecast for total revenues was a growth of 10 -15%.