2004 3rd Quarter Sales Up 12%

(1) Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal

2004 3rd quarter sales increased by 12% over the same period last year, with all entities reporting similar increases in business activity.  

France sales rose by 11%, reflecting continuing sustained growth due to the constant increase in high-dose treatments by sublingual route. 

Subsidiaries1 sales rose 13%, and were particularly sustained in Italy and Germany, with the latter posting a 17% sales increase when regulatory rebates are excluded.

Distributors sales enjoyed a strong 14% increase, after a weak beginning of year affected by delivery timing differences. 

The 10% increase in September sales confirms that the Group should easily achieved its greater than 7% sales growth objective, enabling it to both finance its R&D expenditures required for the development of tablets and achieve a significant improvement in profitability.