Novartis profits dip as Covid mask-wearing cuts flu cases

Covid precautions have seen few people get the flu this year, cutting demand for some of the Swiss drug giant's staple drugs

Novartis' manufacturing plant in Ringaskiddy: Novartis employs about 1,400 people in Ireland across a manufacturing plant in Cork and a services centre in Dublin

Swiss drug giant Novartis – which employs about 1,400 people in Ireland across a manufacturing plant in Cork and a services centre in Dublin – saw profits slip in its latest quarter as mask-wearing to protect against the spread of Covid-19 cut cases of flu and other diseases, sapping demand for some of its key products.

Novartis said its first-quarter core net income dropped 4% to $3.4bn (€2.8bn). That was worse than analysts expected.