Ophthalmology group Alcon grows profitably and increases dividend
Published: Tuesday, Feb 27th 2024, 23:11
Updated At: Tuesday, Feb 27th 2024, 23:12
Volver a Live Feed
The US company Alcon, which specializes in ophthalmology and is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, was set for growth in 2023. Shareholders can now look forward to a higher dividend.
Alcon increased sales by 8.2 percent to 2.33 billion dollars from October to December 2023, as the company announced late on Tuesday evening. At constant exchange rates, the increase was around 10 percent, meaning that Alcon felt the strength of the dollar last year. Meanwhile, profitability also improved significantly: the core operating profit margin rose by 2.5 percentage points to 18.9 percent.
However, Alcon missed AWP's consensus expectations with these figures. The forecast for diluted core earnings per share was nevertheless exceeded at USD 0.70 (previous year: USD 0.42).
Turnover increases to 9.4 billion in 2023
Meanwhile, sales of the former Novartis subsidiary rose by 8.3 percent to just under 9.4 billion for the year as a whole. Most recently, Alcon had also forecast precisely this range of 9.3 to 9.4 billion, which has now been achieved.
On the bottom line, Alcon was able to achieve a leap in profits. The Group posted a profit of 974 million dollars for the year as a whole, following a surplus of 335 million dollars in the previous year. Alcon estimates core earnings per share for the full year at 2.74 dollars (previous year 2.24 dollars).
Shareholders are now to receive a higher distribution. The Group intends to pay them a dividend increased by 3 centimes to 24 centimes.
"We have achieved solid sales growth in both divisions on the back of healthy markets. At the same time, we successfully completed our transformation program and advanced our product pipeline," CEO David Endicott was quoted as saying in the press release.
In fact, both of Alcon's divisions grew, but not quite at the same pace. Sales in the Surgical division (eye surgery) rose by around 5 percent to 5.3 billion dollars, while Vision Care (contact lenses) increased by 12 percent to 4.1 billion dollars. Excluding the unfavorable currency effects of 2 percent, net sales in Vision Care even rose by 14 percent in currency-adjusted terms, as Alcon also reported.
Sales of around 10 billion targeted for 2024
Looking to the future, things are set to continue at a rapid pace. For 2024, the Group anticipates turnover of USD 9.9 to 10.1 billion and a core operating margin of 20.5 to 21.5% - meaning profitability is set to improve further. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to reach 3.00 to 3.10 US dollars.
"We expect to continue to grow faster than the market, achieve operating leverage and create long-term shareholder value," Endicott was quoted as saying.
As is known, Alcon aims to achieve sales of around USD 12 billion by 2027. The core operating profit margin should then be in the mid-20 percent range.
©Keystone/SDA
Spanish 
English 
German 
French 
Arabic