ZURICH: Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis yesterday announced that its net profit fell one percent in 2013 to $9.2bn (¤6.8bn), blaming the impact of unfavourable exchange rates.
Without taking into account rate fluctuations — notably the fall of the Japanese yen and emerging markets’ currencies against the dollar — the group said that profit rose by seven percent last year.
“Novartis delivered strong performance in 2013, growing both net sales and core operating income in constant currencies while absorbing patent expirations,” chief executive Joseph Jimenez said in a statement.
“We maintained good momentum in innovation,” he underlined, noting that 18 new Novartis drugs had won approval from regulators and that the US Federal Drug Administration had granted three products “breakthrough therapy” status.
“Our growth products continued to expand, rejuvenating our portfolio and reinforcing our growth prospects,” Jimenez said.
Novartis is notably banking on the continued performance of its new anti-diabetes drug Galvus, which in 2013 achieved so-called “blockbuster” status thanks to full-year sales of $1.2bn.
The blockbuster label is applied by the pharmaceuticals trade to drugs that notch up annual sales of more than $1bn.
Novartis said that operating profit fell by 3.0 percent to $10.9bn, while sales climbed two percent to $57.9bn.
Like other pharmaceuticals firms, Novartis faces a strong challenges from makers of cheaper generic drugs, sales of which knocked $2.2bn off the Swiss group’s figures last year.
Novartis said that pressure from generics could increase in 2014, warning that its figures could be dented by $3bn if a generic version of its big-name blood pressure drug Diovan is launched in the United States in the second quarter of this year.
Novartis lost its exclusive rights to Diovan on the US market in 2012, but has benefitted from delays in the launch of a generic version there.
Global sales of Diovan nonetheless fell by 20 percent to $3.52bn in 2013, given that the group also lost its exclusive rights in Canada and the European Union.
AFP
