Novartis AG raised its sales and profit forecasts for the year after a handful of new drugs helped first-quarter earnings beat estimates.
(Bloomberg) — Novartis AG raised its sales and profit forecasts for the year after a handful of new drugs helped first-quarter earnings beat estimates.
Operating profit will likely grow in the high-single digits this year and revenue will likely increase in the mid-single digits, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement Tuesday.
Medicines for heart disease, cancer and multiple sclerosis buoyed earnings in the quarter.
The drugmaker got an unexpected boost last month after cancer drug Kisqali succeeded ahead of schedule in a study of people with early breast cancer, a much bigger group of patients than had previously been able to take the drug. Peak annual sales for Kisqali could now reach $8 billion, Barclays Plc analyst Emily Field said.
The breast cancer results were an important win for Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan, who has wrestled with pipeline setbacks even as he sought to refocus the company on high-growth innovative medicines. Novartis is still on track to separate from its generic-drug unit, Sandoz, by the second half of the year, the company said.
The drugmaker is actively developing other assets in breast cancer to partner with Kisqali, as well as follow-on drugs, Narasimhan said in a call with reporters. “It will be a priority for us to build out breast cancer broadly,” he said.
Novartis discontinued or out-licensed about one-tenth of its pipeline projects during the quarter after a comprehensive review.
Earnings per share excluding some items rose to $1.71 last quarter from $1.46 a year earlier, according to the drugmaker. Analysts had forecast profit of $1.57.
The prior forecast was for sales growth in the low-to-mid single digits and profit in the mid-single digits.
The shares have risen 7.1% this year in Zurich, compared with a 9.7% increase in the Bloomberg index tracking European pharmaceuticals.
(An earlier version of this article corrected a misspelling in the Novartis CEO’s name.)
(Updates with CEO comment on breast cancer drug in sixth paragraph)
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