Pharmaceuticals Sector - Solvay

(2) Financial data by region
These data do not include discontinued operations.
Group sales by market location are as follows:
EUR million 2004 % 2005 %
Europe 4 254 59% 4 772 56%
Nafta 1 779 24% 2 200 26%
Mercosur 485 7% 663 8%
Asia-Pacifi c and other 753 10% 927 10%
Total 7 271 100% 8 562 100%
Invested capital and capital expenditure by geographical segment are shown below.
Invested capital* Capital expenditure
EUR million 2004 % 2005 % 2004 % 2005 %
Europe 4 112 73% 5 640 74% 435 80% 1 739 91%
Nafta 1 215 22% 1 432 19% 64 12% 93 5%
Mercosur 253 5% 380 5% 35 6% 59 3%
Asia-Pacifi c and other 15 0% 198 2% 13 2% 22 1%
Total 5 595 100% 7 650 100% 547 100% 1 913 100%
* Invested capital includes the non-current assets and working capital as defi ned in the fi nancial data per Sector above.
(3) Gross margin
Expressed as a percentage of sales, gross margin rose from 34.3% in 2004 to 33.1% in 2005.
(4) Commercial and administrative costs
The Group’s commercial and administrative costs rose 13.2% between 2004 and 2005. This increase is spread
across all three Sectors: Chemicals (2.7%), Plastics (5.2%) and Pharmaceuticals (17.7%). The main reason for the
increase in the Pharmaceuticals Sector is the entry of the Fournier group into the Solvay group. Without this entry,
the increase would have been just 5.2%.
(5) Research and development costs
These have increased by 15.6% on last year.
Research and development costs are up in all three Sectors: Chemicals (2.6%), Plastics (13.1%) and
Pharmaceuticals (19.4%). As with commercial and administrative costs, the main reason for the increase in the
Pharmaceuticals Sector is the entry into the group of Fournier. Without this entry, the increase would have been 8.1%.
Solvay Global Annual Report 2005
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