Novartis' First Half Net Income Declines 12%

Published: 16-Jul-2009

Company' net income in the second quarter of 2009 went down by 10%

Novartis has reported a 12% decrease in net income to $4 billion, for the first half of 2009. The decline was also impacted by financing costs incurred due to the 25% stake in Alcon, which was acquired in mid-2008.

The company has reported a decrease in net income by 10% in the second quarter of 2009, to $2.0 billion. It was mainly attributed to currency changes and higher financing costs, which included a E1.5 billion bond issued in the second quarter of 2009.

Novartis' group net sales increased by 8% in local currencies, but declined 2% in US dollars to $20.3 billion for the first half of 2009.

The company' net sales rose by 8% in local currencies, but fell 2% to $10.5 billion from the loss of 10 percentage points of growth to currency movements, during the second quarter of 2009.

Operating income of the company decreased by 4% in the second quarter to $2.4 billion, but rose 13% when adjusted for the impact of adverse currency movements, exceptional items and the amortization of intangible assets in both periods.

Dr. Daniel Vasella, chairman and CEO of Novartis, said: I am pleased that our pharmaceuticals business continues to deliver double-digit underlying growth, driven by the strong momentum of our recently launched products. Our pipeline continues to deliver a steady stream of innovative medicines. In the first six months of 2009 we have introduced our new anti-cancer therapy Afinitor in the US and gained first approval for llaris as a new biologic therapy for auto-inflammatory diseases.

“We are advancing well in our efforts to rapidly produce and commercialize a vaccine against the H1N1 virus, with clinical trials set to begin in July. We continue to expect record underlying results in constant currencies based on innovation and productivity initiatives, he added.

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