Roche regains its former strength with increased earnings outlook
Published: Thursday, Jul 25th 2024, 13:40
العودة إلى البث المباشر
After a long dry spell, Roche's half-year figures have come as a positive surprise. Thanks to the good business momentum, the Basel-based pharmaceutical company has raised its profit forecast.
This increase is possible thanks to the good sales performance and cost discipline, said CEO Thomas Schinecker on Thursday during the media conference on the figures. "We are also confident that we will be able to maintain the current momentum into the coming year," he added in an interview with AWP.
This confidence also has to do with the review of the pharma strategy. Since the second quarter of 2023, the Group has stopped around a quarter of its pipeline projects "It is important to us that we focus primarily on the most promising projects," says Schinecker.
Meanwhile, neither major savings nor a comprehensive restructuring program are planned, the CEO emphasized. However, Roche will not communicate exactly what the review will ultimately entail until September at the "Pharma Day".
Focus pays off
However, the first partial successes of the new strategy are partly responsible for the performance in the first half of the year. Between January and June, Roche achieved Group sales of 29.8 billion Swiss francs, on a par with the previous year.
At constant exchange rates, sales rose by 5 percent, and excluding Covid-19 sales would have increased by as much as 8 percent.
Pharmaceuticals division supported by new funds
In the first half of the year, the important pharmaceutical division achieved sales of 22.6 billion Swiss francs (+1%). Business was driven by a sustained high demand for newer medicines.
According to the Group CEO, 55% of sales come from new products launched since 2015. And more are likely to come.
Roche generated sales of 7.2 billion (-1%) with its diagnostics. This smaller division in particular had seen a real boom in coronavirus times due to the tests.
At the bottom line, Group profit was 11 percent lower at 6.7 billion. The decline was due in particular to the impairment of intangible assets for products and technologies in research and development as a result of strategic decisions.
Core operating profit, on the other hand, which is the main focus of analysts, rose by 4 percent to 11.3 billion. Roche attributes the increase to the sales trend and cost management.
Better than expected
With the reported figures, Roche slightly exceeded the average analysts' estimates.
Based on the half-year results, the pharmaceutical company is raising its previous profit outlook for the year as a whole. Core earnings per share are now expected to increase in the high single-digit percentage range (previously: mid single-digit percentage range). Management continues to expect a mid-single-digit percentage increase in sales at constant exchange rates. As always, the Group aims to increase the dividend in Swiss francs.
In view of the expected impact from the discontinuation of Covid sales, Roche continues to expect a negative impact on sales of 1.1 billion francs. By contrast, the erosion of sales due to copycat products is likely to have a somewhat less severe impact. Roche has adjusted its forecast here to -1.4 billion. Most recently, the Group was still forecasting 1.6 billion.
©كيستون/إسدا
Arabic 
English 
German 
French 
Spanish