Roche still resilient to biosimilars, but 2016 sales and profit just miss

Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) posted full-year 2016 financial results this morning, showing group sales up 4% at constant exchange rates (+5% Swiss francs) at 50.58 billion Swiss francs ($50.68), just missing analysts’ expectations of 50.7 billion francs.

Pharmaceutical Division sales were up 3% (+5% SwF) at 39.20 billion francs, with several of its top-selling drugs continuing to prosper amid less generic competition than those of its rivals. Diagnostics Division sales were 11.47 billion francs, a rise of 7% (+6% SwF).

Core operating profit came in at 18.42 billion francs, a rise of 4% (+5% SwF) and core earnings per share were 14.53, a rise of 5% (+8% SwF). Core net income in 2016 rose to 12.7 billion francs, Roche said, slightly below the 12.8 billion franc average estimate by analysts in a Reuters poll. Roche shares up 1.37% at 236.00 francs in morning trading.