By Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical major, has announced a substantial increase in net profit for the fourth quarter, largely attributed to the spinoff of its generics-drugs business, Sandoz.
In the same period last year, net profit stood at $1.47 billion, but for Q4 2023, it surged to an impressive $8.48 billion. This significant rise includes a noncash gain of $5.9 billion following the distribution of Sandoz shares to Novartis shareholders, a process completed in October.
Furthermore, the company’s net profit from continuing operations doubled to $2.64 billion, with sales soaring by 8% to reach $11.42 billion. Novartis credits the success to the strong performance of its Entresto heart drug and Cosentyx psoriasis treatment. Both products surpassed $1 billion in quarterly revenue, contributing substantially to the company’s top line.
Additionally, Novartis reported a 4.8% increase in core operating profit, which reached $3.82 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha anticipated that Novartis would report fourth-quarter net profit totaling $3.75 billion on revenues of $11.51 billion. However, the company has exceeded these expectations significantly.
Looking ahead to 2024, Novartis projects mid-single-digit percentage growth in net sales and high-single-digit growth in core operating profit, both at constant currency rates.
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