FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s Merck KGaA predicted further earnings gains in 2021 as an effort by the pharma industry to ready treatments and vaccines against the coronavirus bolsters demand for its supplies for biotech labs.
Merck, which also makes pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals, said on Thursday it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) adjusted for one offs, to grow in the high single-digit to low teens percentage range.
Adjusted EBITDA in 2020 rose 18.6% to 5.2 billion euros ($6.27 billion), it added.
($1 = 0.8295 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Caroline Copley)