For the full year, Novartis’ net sales rose 14% to $32.2 billion. This increase was thanks to expansion in the company’s pharmaceuticals and Sandoz divisions, and was supported by the acquisitions of Hexal and Eon Labs, as well as a good performance in consumer health, particularly over-the-counter (OTC) medicine.
Pharmaceuticals accounted for 63% of group net sales, Sandoz 15% and consumer health 22%. The US remained the largest market, accounting for 39% of group net sales, while Europe contributed 37% and the rest of the world 24%.
In Novartis’ pharmaceuticals division, the company’s cardiovascular and oncology franchises each generated more than $5 billion in annual net sales and many leading products, particularly Diovan, Lotrel and Gleevec/Glivec, were the top products by sales in their therapeutic categories.
For Q4, the company’s net sales rose 14% to $8.7 billion, falling short of
analyst estimates of around $8.8 billion. Earnings per share remained unchanged at 58 cents a share, with growth stunted by a $266 million impairment charge for the fourth quarter for dropping cholesterol drug candidate NKS104.
This news disappointed investors, as did CEO Dr Daniel Vasella’s comment that he expects market growth to slow in 2006.