(merckgroup) -- The Merck Groups first-quarter 2012 total revenues rose 3.2% to EUR 2,645 million compared to EUR 2,564 million in the first quarter of 2011.
Sales for the Group increased 3.5% to EUR2,564 million in first quarter compared to EUR2,478 million in the year-ago quarter.
This performance reflected organic sales growth of 1.2%, a 1.7% positive benefit from changes in foreign exchange rates and a 0.6% boost from acquisitions and divestments.
The Groups organic sales growth was entirely driven by the Merck Serono and Merck Millipore divisions during the quarter.
The Merck Millipore life science division?s first-quarter 2012 sales rose 7.3% year on year to EUR653m, driven by solid results from its lab solutions and process solutions business units.
Pharmaceutical division Merck Seronos first-quarter sales increased 5.4% to EUR1.42bn year on year, while the groups consumer health division reported sales of EUR108m, a 7.4% decline compared to EUR116m in the first quarter of 2011.
Looking at the year as a whole, Merck expects total revenues of around EUR10.5bn and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before one-time items of EUR 2.8bn-2.9bn.
MRC