Strong first-half 2019 at Roche, which raises full-year outlook

In the first half of 2019, group sales at Roche (ROG: SIX) rose 9% at constant exchange rates to 30.47 billion Swiss francs ($30.92 billion) and core earnings per share (EPS) grew 13% to 11.12 francs, ahead of sales, the Swiss pharma giant announced this morning.

Roche also upped its full-year forecast, with the news sending the firm’s shares up 1.59% to 268.00 francs by around midday.

Core operating profit increased 11% to 12.36 billion francs, reflecting the strong underlying business performance. IFRS net income increased 19%, due to the strong underlying core results and one-time effects resulting from a remeasurement of deferred tax positions as well as the release of acquisition related provisions.

Sales in the Pharmaceuticals Division increased 10% to 24.2 billion francs, beating analysts’ estimates by one point. Key growth drivers were the multiple sclerosis medicine Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), the new hemophilia medicine Hemlibra (emicizumab-kxwh) and cancer medicines Tecentriq (atezolizumab), Perjeta (pertuzumab) and Avastin (bevacizumab). The strong uptake of newly introduced medicines more than offset lower sales of Herceptin (trastuzumab) and of MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab), the company stated.