Strong Franc hits Lonza's Profit

Lonza reported Wednesday that its first-half profit fell 28% to 97 million Swiss francs or 1.89 francs per share from 135 million francs or 2.61 francs a year ago.

Core profit, which excluded items, dropped 23% to 107 million francs or 2.08 francs per share.

For the first half, sales fell 8.3% to 1.19 billion francs from 1.30 billion francs last year, due to strong negative currency exchange rate impacts. At constant exchange rate, revenue grew 4.8% with strong performance in Biological Custom Manufacturing and Development Services. Looking ahead, the company said it remains on track to deliver continued growth for the full year, despite ongoing market volatility combined with macro-economic uncertainties.