FRANKFORT -- Chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Merck (IW 1000/28) said Thursday that its profits more than doubled on steady sales in 2013.
"Merck today announced strong full-year results and the achievement of its objectives for 2013 despite a challenging market environment," the company said.
"We delivered on our promises in 2013," boasted chief executive Karl-Ludwig Kley.
"Merck was never as profitable as it is today. Therefore, we expect to achieve slight organic growth in sales and constantly high earnings in 2014," Kley said.
In 2013, net profit jumped to 1.202 billion euros ($1.7 billion) while sales slipped fractionally by 0.7% to 11.095 billion euros.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
