Strong 1st-qtr showing for Spain's Grifols

Spanish drugmaker Grifols (GRF: MC) has reported first-quarter 2018 financial results, with 1.02 billion euros ($1.22 billion) in revenues, representing a 7.4% increase at constant currency (cc) and a 3.6% decline taking into account foreign currency variations, especially the euro-dollar. Solid organic growth was recorded in all of the group's divisions and regions.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 297.4 million euros, which represents a 29.1% EBITDA margin. In the first quarter of 2018, the company made greater efforts to increase the volume of plasma both organically and through acquisitions to continue to meet rising market demand.

The Bioscience Division generated 807.5 million euros in revenues, representing a 5.8% cc increase and a 5.4% decline including exchange rate variations. By way of comparison, the division reported an outstanding growth of 11.9% cc in the same period in 2017.