Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG has posted a 45 percent rise in net profit in the third quarter, boosted by strong sales of new products such as Gilenya for multiple sclerosis and the leukemia drug Tasigna.
The Basel, Switzerland-based company's reported quarterly net profit was $3.24 billion, up from last year's equivalent of $2.23 billion, which was downwardly adjusted to conform to reporting requirements. The result also included a gain from divesting the blood transfusion diagnostics unit.
In Tuesday's earnings statement, Novartis confirmed its outlook for the year of low to mid-single digit growth in net sales.
CEO Joseph Jimenez called it "a very strong quarter" and said that some of the milestones achieved, such as with drugs for heart failure and psoriasis, show the "innovation power of the company."
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
