Novartis profits down by 33%

Pre-tax profits at the main Cork-based arm of pharma giant Novartis last year declined by 33% to €7.9m.

The drop in pre-tax profits came as revenues at Novartis Ringaskiddy Ltd rose from €112m to €118.3m in the 12 months to the end of December.

The decline in profits from €11.9m to €7.9m arose mainly from an asset impairment charge of €4.3m.

The filings, just lodged with the Companies Registration Office, show that the numbers employed at Novartis’s plant in Ringaskiddy last year increased from 428 to 462.

The filings also confirm that the firm paid a €60m dividend during the year.

The company manufactures the active ingredient for a large number of the top 20 products in the Novartis portfolio.

The directors state: “Future development will depend on the success of the group’s overall strategy, specifically in the development and marketing of new products.”

The accounts show that the dividend pay out reduced the firm’s accumulated profits to €195.6m last year.

The pharmaceutical giant operates in 140 countries, employing almost 119,000, with its global headquarters at Basle in Switzerland, and is engaged in the manufacture and supply of pharmaceutical products and specialist animal health medicines to the agricultural, health care and industrial sectors.

NRL employs 431 in production and 31 in administration and management at Ringaskiddy with staff costs last year increasing from €40.4m to €44m.

The accounts show that at NRL last year €234,000 was paid in directors’ remuneration — a reduction on the €244,000 in the previous year.

The costs include a depreciation charge of €30.3m last year and this followed a depreciation charge of €28.1m in 2010. The company paid tax last year of €1.1m, resulting in an after-tax profit of €6.8m.

The accounts show that the company’s cost of sales increased last year from €99.8m to €109.9m, while the firm’s operating profit decreased by 30% from €12.2m to €8.4m.

The directors’ report says the fall in operating profits “results from the booking of an asset impairment charge of €4.3m”.

The filings show the company sustained an actuarial gain of €1.1m on its pension scheme last year.