Bioton maintains outlook

Biotech company Bioton has said that it maintains its outlook for the year, expecting full-year turnover to reach zł.350 million. The company's president, Adam Wilczęga, said that in Q3 the firm's turnover could reach zł.75-80 million and could break the zł.100-million mark in Q4.

Some zł.300 million will come from the company's Polish operations. "The remaining zł.50 million will come from consolidation of Ukrainian company Indar, as well as two Italian firms," Wilczęga said. Bioton wanted to acquire a 100-percent stake in the Ukrainian company, of which it already owns 29.29 percent, by the end of Q3. However, the privatization process is taking more time than expected. Wilczęga said that Ukrainian managers of Indar oppose the privatization, in fears that the factory will be closed down.

Still, Wilczęga said he still expects the Indar deal to be completed by the end of the year.

"If the Indar [deal] becomes drawn out, we can substitute it with a completely new foreign project," Wilczęga said. The two Italian companies should be consolidated by the end of September.

Bioton's plant in the Russian city of Orel is expected to start producing insulin in the middle of 2008. As for Bioton's Chinese arm, Sci-Gen, "We expect it to start making profits next year," Wilczęga said. The sale of insulin in China should commence in the first quarter of 2008, while in the second half of that year, Bioton's plant in India should start producing insulin crystals.