We are a science and technology company. We are pioneers of human progress, driven by our curiosity.
We have a unique setup, with different disciplines under one roof. Our Life Science business sector provides the tools, high-grade chemicals, and consumables that accelerate scientific breakthroughs and enable the biopharmaceutical industry to ensure that medicines are safe and effective for a global population. With a broad and deep portfolio of more than 300,000 products and an industry-leading e-commerce platform, we are focused on impacting life and health with science. In our Healthcare business sector, we advance innovation through our pipeline; enable life-changing therapies for serious illnesses; treat more than 90 million patients worldwide with cardiovascular, diabetes and thyroid disorders every day; and help many couples to realize their wish to have a child. In our Electronics business sector, we are the company behind the companies, advancing digital living. Our semiconductor and display solutions can be found in almost every electronic device. Thus, we are changing the way information is processed, releasing the potential of data and opening up possibilities for positively influencing the way we live. In addition, our specialists also explore visionary new solutions at the intersection of our three diversified business sectors.
Established in 1668, our exceptional track record shows we continuously reinvent ourselves and think long-term. This mindset is rooted in responsibility, care, and respect: for our work, our people, our customers, patients, society, and our planet. We want to become the global 21st century science and technology pioneer, working toward an ambitious future: sustainable progress for humankind.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany holds the rights to the corporate name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States. In these countries, we operate as MilliporeSigma in the Life Science business, as EMD Serono in the Healthcare business, and as EMD Electronics in the Electronics business.
Apart from our three business sectors, our financial reporting presents five regions: Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. As of December 31, 2022, we had 64,243 employees worldwide. The figure as of December 31, 2021, was 60,348 employees.
In 2022, our 224 fully consolidated companies with personnel in 66 countries generated sales of € 22.2 billion. Our 101 production sites are located across 19 countries.
Employees and sales by region – 2022
Group structure
In accordance with our strategic orientation our company comprises three business sectors: Life Science, Healthcare and Electronics.
In Life Science, we are a leading global provider of tools, chemicals, and equipment to academic labs, biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the industrial sector. With a strong focus on innovation, we are committed to delivering the products, services, and digital platforms to create a sustainable future for generations to come. In early 2022, we announced the reorganization of the sector to support Life Science's long-term growth strategy and to better serve our global customers' evolving needs. The existing Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization and Contract Testing services were split from the Process Solutions business and consolidated into one global, fully integrated Life Science Services organization for traditional and novel modalities, including monoclonal antibodies, high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as antibody-drug conjugates and viral and gene therapies including mRNA. The Process Solutions business will continue its focus on delivering our leading product offering for pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, including filtration devices, chromatography resins, single-use assemblies and systems, processing chemicals, and excipients. The Research Solutions and Applied Solutions business units were combined into one organization called Science and Lab Solutions. This business unit serves the pharma and biotech, industrial and testing, academic and government, and diagnostics sectors, providing customers a more seamless experience and access to a broad portfolio including reagents, consumables, devices, instruments, software, and services for scientific discovery, in addition to lab water instruments, consumables and services, microbiology and biomonitoring products, test assays, analytical reagents, and flow cytometry kits and instruments.
Our Healthcare business sector discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets innovative pharmaceutical and biological prescription drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS), infertility, growth disorders, and certain cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Healthcare operates across four therapeutic areas with a clear ambition to become a global specialty innovator: Neurology and Immunology, Oncology, Fertility, and Cardiology Metabolism & Endocrinology. Our R&D pipeline positions us with a clear focus on strengthening our leadership positions in oncology, neurology, and immunology. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been continuously making every effort to proactively handle the situation and minimize the impact of the pandemic and also of any challenges from the external context on the supply of our medicines locally and globally. To this end, we are using three main levers: the thorough implementation and further development of our business continuity plans across our network, the active management of our stocks, and the assessment of alternative transportation routes to reach our customers and patients.
With our Electronics business sector our main focus is on materials and solutions for the electronics market. We realigned our portfolio toward the accelerated digitization and the growth of data. This drives the need for more and higher sophisticated semiconductor chips and displays. Today, we are optimally positioned to leverage our key strengths: With a well-balanced and broad technology portfolio of materials and equipment, industry leading R&D and a global production network close to our customers, we have become one of the most relevant suppliers of materials and solutions for the semiconductor and display industries – and are on track to further expand our position. In addition, our decorative and functional solutions for innovative surfaces of all kinds make life more colorful. The business sector consists of three business units: Semiconductor Solutions, Display Solutions, and Surface Solutions.
Net sales by business sector – 2022
Governance
Based in Darmstadt, Germany, our company operates in the legal form of a corporation with general partners (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien – KGaA). The general partner E. Merck KG, Darmstadt, Germany holds around 70% of the total capital of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany (equity interest); the shareholders hold the remainder, which is divided into shares (share capital). Our shares have been included in the DAX®, the blue-chip index of the Deutsche Börse, since 2007. In September 2008, our company was added to the FTSE4Good Index, a sustainability index that assesses the social, ecological and ethical conduct of companies.
Group strategy
We are curious minds dedicated to human progress. We believe that scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship are key to technological advances that benefit us all. Our values – courage, achievement, responsibility, respect, integrity, and transparency – guide us in every step we take and in every decision we make. As a company, we have a strong foundation. These fundamentals have been defined by the Merck family. We always take them into consideration when discussing and deciding on our Enterprise strategy.
- We follow a risk diversification strategy with three distinct business sectors, and we avoid overexposure to any single customer, industry, or geography. We ensure resilience against business disruption and deep crises.
- With our science and technology focus, we want to be leaders in our fields of expertise and markets, always pushing the boundaries to find new solutions and drive innovation. We aim to create value for our business and for society.
- We continue to operate under our current ownership with the Merck family as the majority owner.
- We deliver sustainable value, and we want to maintain an attractive financial profile (for example, a strong credit rating) while assessing and considering the ESG (environmental, social, governance) impact of our growth ambition.
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are an important driver of our long-term value creation strategy with a focus on innovation-driven technology.
Our ambition is to become the global 21st century science and technology pioneer. To achieve this, we will continue to focus on our “Big 3” businesses: Process Solutions and Life Science Services, new Healthcare products, and Semiconductor Solutions. Until 2025, these businesses are expected to generate approximately 80% of the targeted sales growth, and more than 50% of total sales by 2025.
Our highly resilient business sectors are the foundation for our bold plans to accelerate efficient growth and seize organic and inorganic opportunities. We attribute our high capacity for resilience to several factors, notably:
- Good financial position: strong balance sheet, sufficient cash reserves and moderate fixed cost exposure
- High degree of diversification in the three business sectors amid low cyclicality
- Robust supply networks due to increasing localization
- Lower dependency on single regions thanks to diversified footprint
- Strong focus on sustainability as an integral part of the company strategy, linked with clear sustainability goals.
You can find more information on our company strategy in our Annual Report 2022. Details on the sustainability strategy can be found there and here in the report.