(Updates lead to make clear reference to company's own supply chain, adds quotes in paragraphs 3&4)

MILAN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are having only a minimal impact on the supply chain of Italian drug maker Recordati, the company's chief financial officer said on Thursday.

The diversion of ships from the Middle East via southern Africa was slowing the delivery time for some ingredients used in the manufacturing process but there was no shortage of finished products, Luigi La Corte told Reuters.

"The impact on the supply chain is minimal," he said, referring to attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on ships in the Red Sea.

"It's getting a little bit longer for active ingredients, but we don't see that as a problem," he added.

The Milan-based company was looking at possible M&A activities for its Rare Diseases division, primarily in the US but also in Europe, he added.

"The strategy has not changed and includes organic portfolio growth and acquisitions," La Corte said.

"The focus is not so much on the country, but increasingly on the portfolio, and we continue to look at the Rare Disease segment as a business and Specialty Primary Care both for products that are already on the market or in the launch phase."

He noted that the US had become the company's leading market in terms of turnover in 2023, with a level of 15.6% putting it just ahead of Italy at 15.3% of the total.

Overall revenues exceeded the 2 billion euro ($2.2 billion)threshold for the first time.

The company also saw strong demand for medication for flu, coughs and colds last year, an increase of more than 9% taking it above what was seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recordati said earlier on Thursday it expected adjusted net profit to rise to a range between 550 and 570 million euros this year, after beating its guidance in 2023. ($1 = 0.9252 euros) (Reporting by Giancarlo Navach Writing and editing by Keith Weir)