Cancer drugs, diagnostics lift Roche earnings
(01-30 15:41)
Swiss drug giant Roche said net profit was up by 2 percent last year to 9.8 billion Swiss francs (HK$82.4 billion) and said it was increasing its dividend.
The company said its overall sales gained by 4 percent measured at constant exchange rates to 45.5 billion francs based on strong sales of cancer drugs and diagnostic tests to laboratories.
The results were slightly better than the consensus of analysts forecast by Swiss financial news agency AWP, which expected net profit of 9.65 billion francs on sales of 45.4 billion.
Chief executive Severin Schwan said in a statement the company achieved “financial targets,’’ and that the “strong pipeline’’ bodes well for growth. Schwan pointed to the approval last year of Roche's breast cancer medicine Perjeta, with another breast cancer treatment nearing market.
Roche said it expected similar sales growth in 2013. The board proposed increasing the dividend for 2012 by 8 percent to 7.35 francs.
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