Novartis has ended third quarter 2019 with reported net income from continuing operations of $2.0 billion, which as an 8% increase, driven by higher operating income and higher income from associated companies, saying in the press release Tuesday that its EPS was USD 0.90 (+11%, +14% cc), growing faster than net income driven by lower weighted average number of shares outstanding.
Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said: “Novartis continued its excellent performance this quarter with double digit increases in sales and core operating income with growing margins. We increased our full year sales and core operating income guidance with growth continuing in both Innovative Medicines and Sandoz. Zolgensma and Piqray launched with strong momentum and Beovu just launched with a clearly differentiated label. We also continue our innovation performance with a number of positive milestones highlighted by Ofatumumab’s remarkable efficacy in RMS with the potential to be the first self-administered, subcutaneous, B-cell therapy.”
Net sales from continued operations in the third quarter were $12.2 billion, driven by volume growth of 16 percentage points, mainly from Cosentyx, Entresto, Zolgensma and the Xiidra acquisition.