By Marleen Kaesebier
ZURICH, April 23 (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Thursday that first-quarter sales declined 5% due to unfavourable foreign exchange effects but rose 6% at constant exchange rates, driven by growth in its pharmaceuticals division.
Quarterly group revenues came in at 14.7 billion Swiss francs ($18.7 billion), in line with average analyst expectations of about 14.7 billion francs compiled by Visible Alpha.
Roche also confirmed a full-year target of growth in adjusted earnings per share in a “high-single-digit” percentage range and sales growth in a “mid-single-digit” range.
The biggest growth drivers in terms of currency-adjusted sales, multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus and once-monthly haemophilia shot Hemlibra, saw sales rise 6% and 13% respectively during the quarter.
Sales for asthma drug Xolair, also approved in the U.S. for food allergies in 2024, jumped 26%.
The Basel-based company’s results were dampened by a weak U.S. dollar, which is weighing on overseas sales.
After losing about 12% against the Swiss franc last year, the U.S. dollar is now down around 1% year to date, following the start of the Iran War.
CHINA STILL WEIGHING ON DIAGNOSTICS
Changes to the way China prices medical devices and diagnostics products have hit Roche’s diagnostics business over the past year, but Chief Executive Thomas Schinecker told reporters in a call that the impact in year-on-year terms is lessening and he expects the second half of the year to be better.
“I’m already very happy given the fact that in the first quarter, we only had a 2% effect on the sales,” Schinecker said.
“You can really see the trend going the right way.”
Its diagnostics division logged a 7% fall in quarterly sales but a 3% rise on a constant currencies basis, with Roche noting that more demand for core lab and pathology solutions offset the impact of China’s pricing reforms.
Sales for the pharmaceutical division fell 4% during the quarter but grew 7% on a constant currencies basis.
($1 = 0.7854 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier and Patricia Weiss; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Edwina Gibbs)
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