German group Bayer, which operates in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and automotive industries, forecasts a 15-20% increase in revenues on the local market against 2007, which could take the overall business beyond 90 million euros.
"In the 2004-2005 period, we more than tripled our turnover on the local market. However, given that we do not have any production facilities in Romania, and do not intend to relocate here, the increase is expected to stay at 15-20%," Laurent Perrier, General Manager of Bayer Romania, told ZF in an interview. He did not specify the level of the company's turnover on the local market, but according to the latest available data, the group's business is estimated at around 75 million euros for 2007.
Bayer's international business is divided into three subgroups worldwide, which operate in different sectors: healthcare (human and animal health), CropScience (agriculture) and Bayer MaterialScience (which operates in the automotive and construction materials industry), a structure that has been preserved on the Romanian market.
The distribution of operations is the result of Bayer's various acquisitions over the last ten years.
"On the local market, the biggest revenues were generated by the pharmaceutical sector, which reflects the figures registered at a group level. We expect Bayer Healthcare to witness the highest growth this year, especially on the OTC (over-the-counter drugs) market. Even though the market saw a slowdown at the beginning of the year, caused mainly by the exchange rate, I think we will see a revival by December," said Perrier.
The healthcare division became the most important area within the German group both in terms of turnover and in terms of the number of employees in 2006, when it took over Schering in an international transaction worth over 17 billion euros.
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