Novartis has reported that its fourth quarter net profit fell 47% to $1.21bn as the company felt the impact of a previously disclosed charge of $900m, relating to a forecasted decline for sales of its Tekturna drug.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The company was, however, boosted by 4% increases to its sales and pharmaceutical turnover, which rose to $14.78bn and $8.31bn respectively.
Blood pressure medication Diovan retained its title as the company’s biggest seller, but the drug reported a 16% decline in sales to $1.32bn as generic competition in Europe infringed upon its market share. Novartis’s newer drugs showed impressive growth, with cardiovascular drug Exforge reporting a 29% increase in sales to $323m and sales of Exjade rose 10% to $229m.
Novartis also reported impressive performances from its other units, with vaccines and diagnostics rising 86% to $671m and eye unit Alcon improving by 6% to $2.43bn, however, generics subsidiary Sandoz reported a 5% decline in turnover to $2.29bn.
Novartis chief executive Joe Jimenez praised the company’s momentum, but acknowledged the company had mixed fortunes, adding: "we experienced some disappointments in the fourth quarter, with Tekturna and with the need to improve our quality standards at some manufacturing sites."
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataCaption: Novartis’s headquarters, located in Basel, Switzerland. Image: Novartis
