Roche sold less in the first quarter of 2024 than a year ago. Sales fell by 6 percent to 14.4 billion francs, as the pharmaceutical company announced. Revenue fell in both the pharmaceutical division and the diagnostics sector.
At the pharmaceutical company Roche, the loss of Corona sales last had its effect in the first quarter of 2024. The group confirms its previous goals for the entire financial year.
Legend: Roche made less sales in the first quarter of 2024 than a year ago. Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann
As Roche itself has repeatedly reiterated: In the past three months, the declining income from corona-related drugs and tests has left its mark for the last time. From now on these after-pains are over.
Decreased income in the pharmaceutical division and in the diagnostics sector
In the pharmaceutical division, sales in the first quarter were 10.9 billion francs, which is 6 percent below the previous year’s figure. Roche counts the eye drug Vabysmo, which was launched at the beginning of 2022, as one of the biggest growth drivers here.
In the diagnostics division, Roche generated sales of 3.5 billion francs, a decrease of 6 percent compared to the comparable figure for 2023. The underlying business in particular continued to develop very strongly in the first three months. The reported figures are mostly within the expected range of analyst estimates. Roche traditionally does not present profit figures after three months.
Cautious outlook for the full year 2024
At constant exchange rates, the group expects sales to increase in the mid-single-digit percentage range. Core earnings per share are also expected to rise in the mid-single-digit percentage range.
The group also continues to strive to increase the dividend in Swiss francs. The expected losses from copycat products are no longer expected to be as severe as in the past. Here the group confirms previous information that copycats are expected to cost around 1.6 billion in sales in 2024.