Sanofi posts strong 2nd-qtr earnings, beating estimates

French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) this morning reported that group sales for the second quarter of 2014 grew 6.4% (at constant exchange rates) to 8.075 billion euros ($10.85 billion; up 0.9% on a reported basis). The drugmaker's shares rose 3.56% to 79.63 euros in early trading.

The sales growth was driven by its subsidiary Genzyme (+29.1%) and Diabetes (+16.2% at CER to 1.79 billion euros). Exchange rate movements had a negative effect of 5.5 percentage points primarily reflecting the strength of the euro versus other currencies, in particular the US Dollar. Growth platforms were up 14.5% to 6.16 billion euros, representing 76.3% of total sales.

Sanofi's business net income, which excludes items such as amortization and legal costs, rose 3.9% to 1.54 billion euros, resulting in business earnings per share (EPS) at 1.17 euros per share. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected EPS of 1.14 euros a share on sales of 8.10 billion.