Novartis Says Taxes Hit 4Q Profit But Expects Growth in 2020
29 Gennaio 2020 - 7:58AM
Dow Jones News
By Carlo Martuscelli
Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) said Wednesday that net income fell 5.9%
in the final quarter of the year, hit by tax charges, but guided
for growth in both sales and profit in 2020.
Profit in the fourth quarter totaled $1.13 billion, down from
$1.20 billion the year before, on sales that increased 8% to $12.40
billion, the Swiss drug maker said. An analysts' consensus forecast
provided by FactSet had estimated net income of $2.36 billion and
sales of $12.33 billion.
Novartis attributed the fall in reported profit to higher taxes,
including a one-time deferred tax expense. Core operating income, a
figure watched by analysts that strips out extraordinary items, was
$3.46 billion, up from $3.11 billion in the fourth quarter of
2018.
The continued momentum of its drugs Entresto and Cosentyx,
combined with the launch of gene-therapy Zolgensma, helped drive
growth at the topline, the pharmaceutical major said.
Sales of Zolgensma, a one-shot treatment for infant spinal
muscular atrophy and which is now the world's most expensive drug,
totaled $186 million, an increase from $160 million which Novartis
reported in the third quarter, but a little below the $196 million
forecast by analysts at Jefferies.
Looking ahead, Novartis said it expects sales in 2020 to grow by
a mid- to high-single digit percentage, while core operating income
is forecast to grow by a high-single to low-double digit
percentage, all at constant currencies. This excludes both the
Alcon and Sandoz U.S. oral solids and dermatology business, as well
as the introduction of generic competition to Gilenya and
Sandostatin, it said.
Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@wsj.com;
@carlomartu
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2020 01:43 ET (06:43 GMT)
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