BELGRADE (Serbia), November 13 (SeeNews) – German generic drugs producer Stada said on Wednesday its sales in Serbia jumped 20% to 61.6 million euro ($82.7 million) in the first nine months of 2013, mainly driven by rising demand.
Generic drugs generated 51.5 million euro in sales through September, up 26% on the year, Stada, which owns Serbian drug maker Hemofarm, said in a statement on its website. Generic drugs accounted for 84% of the company's sales in Serbia, compared to 80% in the same period last year.
Sales of Stada branded products in Serbia climbed 22% to 9.7 million euro over the review period, accounting for 16% of the company's sales in the Southeast European country.
In the third quarter of 2013, Stada founded Stada IT Solutions, its own shared service center where a large number of IT services will be bundled in the future. The company, which will provide only intercompany services, is part of Hemofarm.
Stada's own shared service center will help the company save a substantial portion of previous costs by foregoing the use of external consultants. As early as 2014, net cost saving of over 2.0 million euro can be realised in the IT budget based on the present workload and cost volumes, it noted. Stada expects annual savings of significantly more than 3.0 million euro as from 2015.
The company also said it "still assumes that its own operating business in Serbia is fundamentally stable and that it offers further growth opportunities."
In addition to the development of the liquidity situation of the wholesalers and distribution partners on the Serbian market, sales and earnings contributions in the country will continue to be significantly dependent on the exchange rate of the Serbian dinar versus the euro in the future, the statement said.
Stada completed the acquisition of Hemofarm, located in Vrsac, in northeastern Serbia, in 2006.
($=0.7447 euro)