As Roche navigates the final impacts of reduced coronavirus sales and a strong Swiss franc, the company maintains its outlook for 2024.
KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally
At Roche, the loss of coronavirus sales had its last impact in the first quarter of 2024. However, the strong Swiss franc once again had a significant impact on the pharmaceutical company.
At Group level, the pharmaceutical company achieved sales of 14.4 billion Swiss francs between January and March, as detailed in a press release issued on Wednesday.
This corresponds to a decrease of 6%. At constant exchange rates, sales increased by 2% and were thus in line with the target set by Roche management.
The strong demand for newer medicines as well as immunodiagnostics and clinical chemistry tests more than offset the expected decline in Covid-19 sales and the impact of biosimilars/generics erosion, according to the press release.
Excluding Covid-19 products, Group sales increased by 7%.
The strong Swiss franc once again had a significant negative impact on sales in the first quarter. For the year as a whole, the Group anticipates a declining effect and expects a negative currency impact of -2% on sales and -4% on core operating profit.
In the pharma division, sales in the first quarter amounted to 10.9 billion francs, which is 6% below the previous year’s figure (+2 kWk).
In the Diagnostics Division, Roche generated sales of 3.5 billion Swiss francs, a decrease of 6% compared to 2023.
Roche traditionally does not publish profit figures after three months.
Cautious Outlook Confirmed
Roche is maintaining its cautious outlook for 2024 as a whole. The Group continues to expect a mid-single-digit percentage increase in sales at constant exchange rates.
Core earnings per share are also expected to increase by a mid-single-digit percentage. In addition, the Group remains committed to increasing the dividend in Swiss francs.
The expected losses due to copycat products should no longer be as much of a burden as in the past.
Here, the Group confirms earlier statements according to which copycat products are likely to cost around 1.6 billion in sales in 2024.
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