July 20, 2010 (Lure, France) – Vétoquinol recorded strong sales growth (+15.1%) in the first six months of 2010, driven mainly by an increase in organic growth. Revenues increased in all of the geographical regions served by the Group, and in all of its strategic therapeutic segments

In thousands of euros	1st half 2010	1st half 2009	Change
First half revenues	137,995	119,881	+15,1%
First half revenues At constant exchange rates	133,026	119,881	+11,0%
First half revenues At constant exchange rates and scope	127,197	119,881	+6,1%

Strong performance
Vétoquinol’s revenues in the 1st half of 2010 totalled EUR 138.0 million, an increase of 15.1% over the same period in the preceding year. With exchange rates held constant, the growth in revenues came to 11.0%. Thus exchanges rates had a positive effect, increasing revenues by 4.1%, due mainly to the depreciation of the euro. Organic growth for the period came to 6.1%, out-performing the objectives of our economic model for the medium term.

Continued growth in the 2nd quarter
The 2nd quarter of 2010 saw a strengthening of the trends observed in the 1st quarter. Organic growth increased by 6.8%, compared with 5.4% in the 1st quarter of 2010. Organic growth in the Group’s three strategic therapeutic segments – anti-infectives, pain/inflammation and cardiology/nephrology – totalled 8.3% in the 1st half of 2010, with strong growth in sales of Surolan® and Rubenal®.

In geographical terms, growth was driven by:
- strong sales increases in our newer regions: Asia/Pacific and the Americas;
- a large contribution from Italy, marking the successful integration of our acquisition there; and
- the steady progression in India.

The high level of revenues was the direct result of the efforts that we have made to strengthen marketing and sales.

Vétoquinol reaffirms its ambitions for external growth
”The strong performance recorded in the 1st half of 2010 confirms the value of our focused strategy,” stated Matthieu Frechin, CEO of Vétoquinol. “Thanks to our very low debt, the Vétoquinol Group is able to mobilise more than EUR 200 million in pursuit of external growth. In particular, Vétoquinol will closely monitor sales of product lines resulting from the merger of Merial with Intervet/Schering-Plough, looking for acquisition targets related to our strategic species.”

Press release