Novo Nordisk Lifts Guidance and Increases Buybacks -- Earnings Review
May 05 2021 - 9:19AM
Dow Jones News
By Dominic Chopping
Novo Nordisk AS reported results for the first quarter on
Wednesday. Here's what we watched:
SALES: Sales slipped 0.2% to 33.8 billion Danish kroner ($5.46
billion) from DKK33.88 billion, but beat analysts' expectations of
DKK32.32 billion. The quarter was marked by strong sales within
diabetes and obesity care, but growth this year was negatively
affected by the pandemic-related stocking in the first quarter of
2020, partially offset by inventory changes and timing of shipments
in 2021, the Danish pharmaceutical company said.
NET PROFIT: Net profit rose to DKK12.62 billion from DKK11.9
billion, above the DKK11.73 billion forecast by analysts in a
FactSet poll.
WHAT WE WATCHED:
GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1: Sales of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic
glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs, or GLP-1, for treating type 2
diabetes, rose 13% to DKK11.3 billion, with their market share of
the GLP-1 market increasing 2.5 percentage points on the year to
50.8%.
MARGINS: Gross margin fell to 82.8% from 84.1% last year, while
the operating margin fell to 44.3% against 48.1% in the first
quarter of 2020.
BUYBACKS: The share-buyback program has been expanded by DKK1
billion to DKK18 billion, the company said.
GUIDANCE: Novo Nordisk raised guidance, saying it now expects
2021 sales growth of 6%-10% from 5%-9% previously, and operating
profit growth of 5%-9% from 4%-8% in local currencies. Reported
growth in sales and operating profit is still seen around four and
six percentage points lower, respectively, than in local
currencies, it said. The guidance reflects expectations for sales
growth of the company's diabetes-care products Ozempic and Rybelsus
as well as growth within obesity care, but also intensifying
competition within diabetes care and biopharm and pricing pressure
within diabetes care in the U.S., the company said.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2021 09:04 ET (13:04 GMT)
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