Novo Nordisk's 4th-qtr sales rise of 9% beats forecasts

Danish diabetes care giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) this morning posted financial results, showing that net profit for the fourth quarter of 2019 rose 1.5% to 8.72 billion Danish kroner ($1.29 billion), missing the 9.2 billion kroner forecast by analysts in a FactSet poll.

Sales rose 9% to 32.42 billion kroner against analysts' expectations of 31.95 billion kroner. Novo Nordisk’s shares were up 1.1% at 420.55 kroner by 10.00 am.

Full-year 2019 sales increased 9% in Danish kroner and by 6% at constant exchange rates (CER) to 122.0 billion kroner. Sales in international operations increased by 12% in Danish kroner (11% at CER), driven by growth in all regions. Sales in North America operations increased by 6% in Danish kroner (1% at CER).