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Darmstadt (dpa) - The pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck has come through the Corona crisis well so far.
The flourishing laboratory division of the Darmstadt-based company was given an additional boost by global research on corona vaccines, while the semiconductor business took off and Merck has again been able to show successful drugs in the pharmaceutical division after years of downturn.
On Thursday (7:00 a.m.) the Dax group will present figures for the fourth quarter and the 2020 balance sheet.
Merck has already revamped its annual targets, which were lowered during the Corona crisis, several times: For 2020, the Executive Board headed by Stefan Oschmann is aiming for a sales increase of up to 17.5 billion euros (2019: 16.2 billion).
Adjusted operating profit is also expected to grow strongly.
The annual balance sheet for 2020 is the last to be presented by Oschmann.
The head of the pharmaceutical division Belén Garijo is to replace him at the top from May.
Oschmann leaves a well-ordered company: Specialty chemicals have largely completed their renovation.
Because the long booming business with liquid crystals for displays and smartphones, for example, was faced with competition from Asia, Merck turned around and bought the US semiconductor supplier Versum for 5.8 billion euros.
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The pandemic brought light and shadow to Merck: Merck is supplying urgently needed lipids as building blocks for Biontech's vaccine as well as laboratory supplies to more than 50 corona vaccine developers worldwide.
In contrast, the demand for Merck color pigments for the automotive and cosmetics industries is weakening.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210303-99-674349 / 2
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