UPDATE: Novartis 2nd-qtr profit and sales dip, as generic competition bites

Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) this morning reported second-quarter 2016 financial results, showing the revenues were down 2% at $12.5 billion, but beating analysts’ average expectations of $12.2 billion. At constant exchange rates sales were unchanged.

Second-quarter core net income, which excludes some items, fell 7% to $2.93 billion, compared with the $2.83 billion average of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters. Analysts had forecast core earnings per share of $1.19 per share, which was also bettered by the actual result of $1.23 a share, a decline of 3%. Novartis’ shares were barely moved, dropped just 0.68% to 79.90 Swiss francs by 90.30 GMT.

The company’s sales were hit by generic competition for its cancer drug Gleevec (imatinib), and lower than expected revenues of its latest cardiovascular drug Entresto (sacubitril and valsartan), which Novartis has formally said would bring in peak revenues of around 45 billion but achieved only $32 million for the reporting period. Meanwhile Cosentyx (secukinumab) brought in $260 million, beating estimates of $206 million. The company reiterated its forecast that Entresto would generate around $200 million in sales in the whole of 2016.