NVS Novartis AG

   By Sonia Amaral Rohter 
 

Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net profit increased on higher income from associated companies and strong sales of newer drugs, which helped offset the negative impact of generic competition.

The Swiss pharmaceuticals company reported fourth-quarter net profit of $1.98 billion compared with $957 million during the same period a year ago. Pretax profit for the fourth quarter was $1.98 billion compared with $936 million during the same period the prior year. Revenue for the quarter increased 4.8% to $12.92 billion, Novartis said.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected pretax profit for the quarter of $1.88 billion and sales of $12.79 billion.

Sales at the eyecare unit Alcon, which has been undergoing a strategic review since early 2017, grew 8.3% to $1.56 billion. Novartis says that it expects net sales growth in the low-to-mid single digit range for Alcon in 2018.

In 2018, the company said that, at constant currency, it expects low-to-mid single digit growth in net sales and mid-to-high single digit growth in core operating income. The company expects mid-single digit growth at its innovative medicines division, while sales at Sandoz, its generic drug division, are expected to be broadly in-line to a slight decline.

For 2017, Novartis proposed a dividend of CHF2.80 a share, a 2% increase over the prior year.

Write to Sonia Amaral Rohter at sonia.amaralrohter@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 24, 2018 02:09 ET (07:09 GMT)

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