BELGRADE (Serbia), March 27 (SeeNews) – German drug producer Stada said its sales in Serbia jumped 6.5% to 86 million euro ($118.3 million) in 2013, mostly due to increased demand.
Generic drugs generated 71.8 million euro in sales for the company in Serbia in 2013, up 7.0% on the year, Stada, which owns Serbian drug maker Hemofarm, said in a statement on its website.
Generic drugs accounted for 83% of the company's sales in Serbia, unchanged from 2012.
Sales of Stada-branded products in Serbia climbed 19% to 13.8 million euro over the review period, accounting for 16% of the company's sales in the Southeast European country.
In the third quarter of 2013, Stada founded Stada IT Solutions, its own shared service center where a large number of IT services will be bundled in the future. The company, which will provide only intercompany services, is part of Hemofarm.
Stada's own shared service center will help the company save a substantial portion of previous costs by foregoing the use of external consultants. As early as 2014, net cost saving of over 2.0 million euro can be realized in the IT budget based on the present workload and cost volumes. Stada expects annual savings of significantly more than 3.0 million euro as from 2015.
The company also said it "still assumes that its own operating business in Serbia is fundamentally stable and that it offers further growth opportunities."
Stada completed the acquisition of Hemofarm, located in Vrsac, in northeastern Serbia, in 2006.
($=0.7269 euro)