Merck KGaA projects 2026 profit decline due to forex and patent loss
MS drug Mavenclad to lose U.S. patent protection this month
CEO Garijo cites rare cancer therapies and biotech demand for future growth
Adds CEO comment, background in paragraphs 6-8
By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss
FRANKFURT, March 5 (Reuters) - Germany's Merck KGaA MRCG.DE projected 2026 adjusted operating profit to slip by as much as 9.8%, hurt by negative currency effects and the loss of patent protection for a multiple sclerosis drug.
This year's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would likely be between 5.5 billion and 6.0 billion euros ($6.4 to $7 billion), it said in a statement on Thursday.
Analysts were expecting profit to reach 5.9 billion euros in 2026 - near the upper end of the guidance range.
The earnings forecast marks a decline from the 6.1 billion euros Merck reported for 2025, meeting analysts' expectations based on a consensus posted on the company's website.
MS drug Mavenclad, a key growth driver last year, was set to lose U.S. patent protection this month, Merck said.
CEO Belen Garijo, who was appointed to take the helm at French pharmaceutical major Sanofi SASY.PA in April, said therapies for rare cancer types from a recent takeover would help revive growth over years to come.
Family-controlled Merck in April last year struck a $3.9 billion deal to acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics.
"We are now well positioned for the decade ahead as Merck’s next chapter begins," she said, also citing demand for Merck's biotech lab gear and semiconductor chemicals.
When excluding foreign exchange effects, the development of adjusted EBITDA would be between a drop of 4% and a rise of 1% this year, the group said.
($1 = 0.8624 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss, Editing by Friederike Heine and Tomasz Janowski)
((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; ))
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