Novartis Forecasts Rising Profit, Buoyed by Key Drugs

(Bloomberg) -- Novartis AG forecast rising annual sales and profit after the Swiss drugmaker spun off its Alcon eye-care unit to sharpen focus on innovative medicines.

• Sales in 2020 are expected to grow by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage, and earnings excluding some items will likely increase by a percentage in the high single to low double digits, the company said.

Key Insights

• The latest quarter’s earnings were mostly in line with estimates, showing that Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan’s plans are largely on track.
• The coronavirus spreading from China to countries around the world isn’t expected to disrupt its supply chains and the company is taking steps to protect employees, Narasimhan said on a call with reporters.
• Zolgensma, the company’s $2.1 million gene therapy that was approved in the U.S. last May, is still seeing strong uptake from payers, Narasimhan said. The therapy’s sales for the quarter were $186 million.

Market Reaction

• The shares were up 0.7% early Wednesday in Zurich. They’ve gained about 23% in Zurich over the past year, compared with a 28% increase for a Bloomberg pharma index.

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• Read the statement here.
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To contact the reporter on this story: James Paton in London at jpaton4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, John Lauerman

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