Sanofi highlights strong business trends in third quarter of 2015

Sanofi has announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2015, during which it achieved a group sales total of 9.59 billion euros (6.83 billion pounds).

This represented a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent, thanks to strong sales of its vaccines and animal health products, as well as the success of its subsidiary Genzyme and its multiple sclerosis therapies.

These trends helped to offset a decline in the performance of its diabetes business, with its steady financial performance attributed to higher investment in new products.

With the growing adoption of new products such as Aubagio, NexGard, Lemtrada and Toujeo, and the recent launch of Praluent, the firm was able to achieve key milestones in its overall strategy.

It expects its 2015 earnings per share figure to be stable or slightly ahead of 2014's numbers at constant average exchange rates, barring unforeseen major adverse events.

Olivier Brandicourt, Sanofi's chief executive officer, said: "The group showed growth on both top and bottom-line in the third quarter, driven by strong performance of Genzyme, vaccines and emerging markets. At the same time, we continue to make significant investments to strengthen Sanofi for the future."