Zentiva Reaches 6.2% Retail Market Share

Zentiva has gained 1.5% on the retail segment of the drugs market one year after the successful integration of Zentiva operations on the Romanian market. The company currently has a 6.2% share of the retail segment, evaluated at an overall 4.6 billion RON. The company is planning to introduce 6 new products this year, of which 3 have already been released.

"The development of our operations in Romania reflects both the weight of our sales within the Group, and the market dynamics. It confirms that the Group"s development strategy also works in Romania," said Mariana Wencz, Country Manager - Romania. "We are very proud of the remarkable results we have achieved in Romania. Considering the sums individuals spend on pharmaceutical products in different countries every year - 130 EUR in the Czech Republic, 400 EUR in France, 485 EUR in Germany and only 76 EUR in Romania - we realized the growth potential Romania had," she added.

Zentiva"s gross sales in Romania gained 22.5% in the first quarter, with foreign brands accounting for 42.3% of the total. The Group reported gross pharmaceutical sales of 13,821 million CZK in 2006, of which 18% in Romania. "Romania is a key market. It is dynamic, interesting and will grow very fast in the next few years because the demand is huge," said Zentiva Group Commercial VP Lars Ramneborn. The Group reported a net profit of 2,203 million CZK, up by 17.3% year-on-year.

Zentiva is listed on the Prague and London Stock Exchanges. The leading shareholders are Sanofi - Aventis (24.9%) and Ceska Pojist"ovna (12.3%). The management has 6.4%, whereas various institutional and private investors have a total of 56.4%.