Roche expresses satisfaction with first-half performance for 2016

Roche has announced its financial results for the first half of 2016, during which it delivered a six-month group sales total of 25.02 billion Swiss francs (19.21 billion pounds).

This represented a five percent year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates, or six percent in Swiss francs. Its pharmaceuticals division saw a sales improvement of four percent, driven by oncology and immunology medicines, while the diagnostics division grew six percent, thanks to strong demand for immunodiagnostic products.

Key highlights of the six months included the launch of Roche's first cancer immunotherapy medicine Tecentriq and the completion of US and EU regulatory filings for Ocrevus, a promising new multiple sclerosis drug.

Roche continues to expect sales to grow in the low to mid-single digit range on a constant exchange basis over the course of the full year, while core earnings per share are set to grow ahead of sales.

Severin Schwan, Roche's chief executive officer, said: "Based on our half-year performance, I am confident that we will meet our full-year targets for 2016."

The company is seeking to improve on the group sales total of 48.15 billion Swiss francs it achieved in 2015.