Bulgarian Drug Maker Sopharma Plans To Exit Two Non-core Units

Sopharma said in a statement it plans to exit local amorphous silica producer MineralCommerce and Sfarm Investments Limited company as their operations are not part of its core business and lower its profitability.

Sopharma owned 70% of MineralCommerce and 100% of Sfarm Investments at the end of June.

The drug maker had a consolidated net profit of 20.39 million levs ($15.2 million/10.4 million euro) in the first half of 2009, 76.5% up on the year. Its half-year sales rose 7.0% to 226 million levs.

Sopharma (www.sopharma.bg) exports to 28 countries with Russia and other former Soviet republics being its main foreign markets. The company has said it will aim to expand its presence in Russia, Ukraine and Poland, and enter new markets such as the U.S., the Caucasus countries and countries in central and eastern Europe.

Shares of Sopharma, part of the SOFIX index of the Bulgarian bourse, closed 0.48% higher at 4.2 levs in a volume of 7,518 stocks on Thursday. The statement was released after the end of the trading hours.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)