Sanofi-Aventis, the world’s third-largest drug maker, has announced gross profits of €5,442 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, 9.1 percent higher than in the fourth quarter of 2004. Gross profit was €21,341 million, 10.1 percent up on 2004.
Net sales were also up by 7.0 percent to €7,007 million as compared to net sales in the same quarter for the previous year. In 2005, the French company generated net sales of €27,311 million, a rise of 9.3 percent on a comparable basis.
The Sanofi-Aventis Board of Directors, at its meeting earlier this week, has decided to ask the May 2006 Annual General Meeting to approve a dividend of €1.52 per share, 26.7 percent higher than the €1.20 dividend paid in the previous year. The dividend payment will be made on June 7, 2006.
Adjusted earnings per share for the year 2005 have risen by 25.7 percent at €4.74 (vs. €3.77 for 2004). Adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter, on the other hand, grew by 20.0 percent at €1.08 (vs. €0.90 for the fourth quarter of 2004). Net income for 2005 was up 26.1 percent at €6,335 million, representing 23.2 percent of net sales (vs. 19.9 percent in 2004). Net income for the fourth quarter was 20.8 percent higher at €1,444 million, representing 20.6 percent of net sales (vs. 18.2 percent for the fourth quarter of 2004).
Commenting on the 2006 outlook, the Chairman and CEO Mr. Jean-François Dehecq said: “Barring major adverse events, and after taking account of the full-year impact of generics of Allegra®, Amaryl®, Arava®, and DDAVP®, we expect 2006 full-year adjusted EPS growth around 10%, based on an exchange rate of €1:$1.25, with sensitivity to the euro/dollar exchange rate estimated at 0.6% of growth for a 1-cent movement in the exchange rate”.
Sanofi-Aventis also reported that it currently has 129 projects in research and development, including more than 80 in clinical development. The number of projects in late stage clinical development has increased significantly to 55 compared with 48 phase II and III projects in late stage development in March 2005. The company aims to submit 11 new chemical compounds and 7 vaccines for regulatory approval by the end of 2008.
About Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis is the world’s third largest R&D-based pharmaceutical company bringing innovative therapeutic solutions to patients and physicians worldwide addressing unmet medical needs in its core group of four therapeutic areas: cardiovascular diseases and thrombosis, diseases of the central nervous system, oncology and internal medicine.
The permanent objective of Sanofi-Aventis is to improve people’s health worldwide while respecting fundamental ethical principles. The Group has a strict code of ethics and is an active contributor to European and global industry standards and best practices. The company has been operating in the Middle East for over 20 years.
For more information on Sanofi-Aventis, please visit www.sanofi-aventis.com
