Roche Raises Guidance After Sales, Earnings Beat Market Expectations

By Helena Smolak

Roche raised its earnings outlook for the year after first-half sales and earnings rose, beating analysts' expectations.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant said Thursday that it now expects its core earnings per share to grow by a high single-digit percentage at constant currencies when excluding the impact from tax disputes in 2023, having previously guided for mid-single-digit growth. It continues to expect sales growth in the mid-single-digit range at constant exchange rates in 2024.

Sales for the first six months of the year rose to 29.85 billion Swiss francs ($33.72 billion) from CHF29.78 billion a year earlier.

First-half sales in the pharmaceutical and diagnostics divisions both rose 5% at constant currencies to CHF22.64 billion and CHF7.21 billion, respectively. New product launches from hemophilia injection Hemlibra and multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus, cancer drug Tecentriq, more-than offset generic erosion of rheumatoid arthritis treatment Actemra and its eye drug Lucentis, it said.

Core earnings per share rose to CHF10.23 from CHF10.10.

Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected first-half sales of CHF29.38 billion and core EPS of CHF9.24.

Net profit for the half year was CHF6.26 billion, down from CHF7.14 billion.

Roche said it expects to further increase its dividend.

Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2024 01:49 ET (05:49 GMT)

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