Roche posts sales growth in base business of both divisions

Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) says that, in the first three months of 2023, group sales declined by 3% (-7% in Swiss franc term) to 15.3 billion francs ($17.2 billion).

However, the company noted that the appreciation of the Swiss franc against most currencies had a negative impact on the results reported in Swiss francs compared to constant exchange rates. Roche’s shares dipped 1.4% following the announcement.

As expected, the first quarter 2023 results reflected the exceptionally high demand for COVID-19 tests in the same quarter of 2022, when the Omicron wave was at its peak.