Pharmaceuticals Roche sticks to full-year targets after first nine months

After the first three quarters of 2024, the pharmaceutical company Roche believes it is well on track to achieve its annual targets. Accordingly, the Basel-based company has confirmed its previous targets.

In the first nine months, the pharmaceutical company generated sales of almost 45 billion Swiss francs. This represents an increase of 2 percent, as Roche announced in a press release on Wednesday. At constant exchange rates, sales increased by 6 percent. Roche benefited from high demand for both its medicines and diagnostics.

Good demand supports

The Pharmaceuticals Division contributed sales of 34.3 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 3 percent. This development was driven by good demand for drugs such as the eye preparation Vabysmo, Phesgo (breast cancer), Ocrevus (multiple sclerosis), Hemlibra (haemophilia) and Polivy (blood cancer).

Together, these five drugs achieved sales of 13.2 billion. This corresponds to an increase at constant exchange rates of 2.7 billion compared to the same period last year, the press release continued.

Roche generated sales of 10.7 billion with its diagnostics, the same amount as in the same period last year. Roche recorded good demand for its immunodiagnostic products, which include cardiac, oncology and thyroid tests, for example. According to Roche, further impetus came from solutions for pathology and molecular diagnostics.

As a reminder: during the coronavirus pandemic, Roche benefited greatly from the demand for tests, particularly in the Diagnostics division, and recorded correspondingly strong business. With the end of the pandemic, these sales figures have clearly fallen.

Roche traditionally does not publish profit figures after nine months.

Outlook confirmed

With the reported figures, Roche slightly exceeded analysts' average estimates for Group and pharmaceutical sales. Diagnostics revenues were roughly in line with expectations.

At the same time, the Group is well on track to achieve its own targets for the year as a whole. At constant exchange rates, the pharmaceutical group continues to expect a mid-single-digit percentage increase in sales. Meanwhile, core earnings per share are expected to increase in the high single-digit percentage range. As always, the Group is committed to increasing the dividend in Swiss francs.

In addition, Roche confirms earlier statements that erosion from generic drugs is expected to reach 1.4 billion Swiss francs in 2024. The decline in Covid sales is still estimated at around 1.1 billion.

SDA