Novartis reports ‘dynamic’ first-quarter growth

Novartis has published its figures for the first quarter of 2007 and announced a robust start to the financial year. The firm reported an 18 per cent rise in net sales compared to the same quarter last year, rising to $9.8 billion (4.9 billion pounds), with “excellent” performances in all divisions.

The firm saw net income rise 11 per cent on the first quarter of 2006 to $2.17 billion this year, while basic earnings per share also rose 11 per cent, reaching $0.92.

With the agreement to sell its Gerber baby foods segment earlier this month, the company announced the completion of its long-term strategic restructuring project that has seen the firm divest much of its non-core business over the past decade.

Dr Daniel Vasella, chairman and chief executive officer of Novartis, commented that the firm was pleased with its strong start to the year, with this performance augmented by the approval of a number of compounds during the quarter, including hypertension drug Exforge in the EU.

“All divisions, particularly pharmaceuticals and Sandoz, delivered excellent performances,” he said.

“I am confident of another year of record sales and earnings in 2007.”

Last month, Novartis announced that it had been ranked as the top company in the pharmaceuticals industry in a survey of the world’s most-admired companies from Fortune magazine.