Geneva, April 26, (dpa/GNA) – A significant drop in sales of Covid-19 tests brought a decrease in sales for the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche in the first quarter.
Sales declined by 7% to 15.3 billion Swiss francs ($18.2 billion) despite strong global demand for newer medicines to treat severe diseases, Roche said on Wednesday, with Vabysmo for severe eye diseases already the strongest growth driver.
Analysts had expected a stronger decline. The strong dollar also had a negative impact, at constant exchange rates the decline was just 3%.
Thomas Schinecker, the new chief executive officer who has been in office since mid-March, confirmed the cautious 2023 outlook formulated by his predecessor Severin Schwan.
Roche expects a decrease in sales of about 5 billion Swiss francs for the year at constant exchange rates, expecting solid sales growth excluding the decline in Covid-19 sales. Roche also expects to further increase its dividend.
GNA