- Novartis’ profits fell in the first half of 2022 compared to the previous year, to a good 3.9 billion dollars.
- That’s about $1 billion less than in the same period last year, the company said.
- In the second quarter – from April to June – Novartis brought in $1.7 billion in net income, up from $2.9 billion a year earlier, Novartis announced.
- At the end of June, the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant announced that it would cut 1,400 jobs in Switzerland over the next three years – and 8,000 jobs worldwide.
The main reason for the decline in profit is that Roche shares were sold last year – which increased profit in 2021. Added to this were the higher restructuring costs this year, according to Novartis.
Despite less profit: Novartis sees itself on course after the second quarter. Sales revenue for the April-June period was $12.78 billion, up five percent at constant currency from a year earlier, the pharmaceutical giant said.
Operating profit adjusted for special items increased by five percent to $4.27 billion. The company thus met its targets for the year as a whole: excluding exchange rate fluctuations, sales revenue and adjusted operating profit are expected to increase by a mid-single-digit percentage.
Sandoz decision by the end of the year
Novartis is making good progress with the implementation of its streamlined business model. Now the management has raised the forecasts for the expected cost reductions. This is expected to save around $1.5 billion in selling and overhead costs by 2024. So far, the target has been to save at least one billion.
Novartis left it open what should happen to the Sandoz generics division, which has been put to the test. A decision should be made by the end of the year. The group raised the forecast for the business development of the division.