Lek Polska Exceeds Projections in the First Eleven Months of 2001
Warsaw, Ljubljana, December 7 – Lek Polska celebrates its tenth birthday in December. In the first eleven months of 2001, its sales reached EUR 50 million, representing 1.77 percent of the Polish pharmaceutical market. With the purchase of Argon, Lek solidified its position in Poland. Lek’s goal is to capture a 2 percent share of the Polish pharmaceutical market. Planned modernization of existing, and the construction of new manufacturing facilities will cost about EUR 11 million.
Lek Polska Sp. z. o. o., which is an integral part of Lek group, the international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Slovenia, celebrates its tenth birthday. The pharmaceutical company Lek has been marketing prescription and non-prescription drugs, and animal health care products in Poland since 1966. In 1991, Lek established one of the first foreign owned pharmaceutical subsidiaries in Pruszkow, near Warsaw. Initially, sales in the Polish market represented ten percent of Lek’s total sales, but with the expansion of our product portfolio, the following years saw a rapid increase in sales. Lek Polska ranks among the top 15 pharmaceutical companies and its rate of growth, twenty percent annually, is faster than the ten percent five year average growth rate of the Polish pharmaceutical market. In 2000, Lek sales in Poland amounted to EUR 46 million, almost twenty percent of Lek’s total sales. Sales in the first nine months of this year rose twenty percent compared to last year, amounting to a 1.77 percent share of the Polish market, and ranking Lek thirteenth on the list of the leading pharmaceutical companies in this market.
Sales of pharmaceutical products and active ingredients, our leading program, increased the fastest, representing 85 percent of our total sales in the first eleven months of this year. Our non-prescription drug and animal health programs achieved similar rates of growth.
In the last years, Lek’s most important products in Poland have been Amoksiklav, Ketonal, Amlopin and Persen. With the acquisition of the Polish pharmaceutical company Argon, Lek strengthens its position in Poland. Lek and Argon recognize several advantages in their united presence on the Polish market: their portfolios of cardiovascular drugs and non prescription medicines complement each other, they can integrate all their activities and optimize their business operations, and together expect their share of the market to grow. The synergistic effect of their combined portfolios in improving the sales of cardiovascular and non-prescription drugs will meet Lek’s primary objective in Poland. Lek Polska’s goal for 2002 is to capture a two percent share of the Polish pharmaceutical market. In the next phase, Lek plans to modernize existing facilities, and construct new manufacturing plants in compliance with the international standards of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The cost of these projected investments is about EUR 11 million.
This press release contains statements and conclusions based on projections of Lek’s future business operations. These estimates are derived from the best information currently available. In case these forecasts prove unreliable, the actual results could prove different from those projected.
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For additional information, please contact Katarina Klemenc, Head of Corporate Communication Department, Lek d.d. Telephone: + 386 1 580 22 43