Novartis raises 2024 profit forecast on demand for new blockbuster drugs

Adjusted operating income in the three months ending in June gained 17% to $4.95bn, beating an average analyst estimate of just over $4.6bn.

Pharma giant Novartis raised its profit forecast for the second time this year as sales climbed for its blockbuster psoriasis and heart failure treatments.

Core operating income is expected to grow in the mid-to-high teens in 2024, the Switzerland-based drugmaker said on Thursday. That’s up from the low double-digit to mid-teens pace it predicted in April.

Second-quarter core earnings per share rose to $1.97, beating the $1.87 average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Novartis is pushing for growth after its leadership wrestled for years to hone what was once one of the more wide-ranging portfolios in the pharmaceutical industry into a more agile company focused on innovative medicines. The final step, last year, was the spinoff of former generic drug unit Sandoz.

The drugmaker left its sales forecast unchanged, saying revenue will rise this year at a high-single to low double-digit level. Sales of Pluvicto, for prostate cancer, were less than some analysts expected, while Cosentyx, for psoriasis, and other immunology drugs beat expectations.

Adjusted operating income in the three months ending in June gained 17% to $4.95bn, beating an average analyst estimate of just over $4.6bn.

The shares are indicated 1.6% higher at Julius Baer in premarket trading.

Novartis is on track to meet its midterm sales and margin targets through 2028, Chief Financial Officer Harry Kirsch said in a briefing with journalists, adding that he sees “excellent” growth continuing in China and the US, despite political tensions.

Pluvicto growth hasn’t been as “dynamic as maybe some would’ve expected,” Kirsch said. The next significant boost in demand will probably come from a potential approval for the drug in a new group of patients, he said.

Bloomberg.