Novo Nordisk reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter net profit on Wednesday and revised down its operating profit forecast.
The pharmaceutical giant said its net profit for the three months to the top of June was 20.05 billion Danish kroner ($2.93 billion), compared with an overall forecast by LSEG of 20.9 billion Danish kroner.
EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) amounted to DKK 25.93 billion within the second quarter, also below the LSEG forecast of DKK 26.86 billion.
Novo Nordisk also lowered its operating profit forecast for the complete 12 months 2024, Growth is now expected to be between 20 and 28 percent as an alternative of the previously expected range of twenty-two to 30 percent.
Novo Nordisk shares fell by almost 7 percent at one point, but were then capable of make up for his or her losses and were last trading at 9:40 a.m. London time, down 2.71 percent.
In the primary quarter of 2024, the Wegovy maker reported a 28% increase in net profit to DKK 25.4 billion year-on-year, barely increasing its forecasts for sales and operating profit growth.
Expectations for sales growth were raised again on Wednesday. The company now issued a forecast of twenty-two to twenty-eight percent at constant exchange rates for the complete 12 months 2024. Previously, the sales growth forecast for this era had been estimated at 19 to 27 percent.
Sales of the favored weight-loss drug Wegovy increased by 55% within the second quarter of 2024 in comparison with the identical period in 2023, reaching 11.66 billion crowns.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, said on Wednesday that the corporate expects “attractive growth” in the approaching months.
“We are very confident that we can scale and also serve patients and now achieve stronger growth for the second half of the year. So I say, worry less about what is happening specifically in [the second quarter]there have been some adjustments in discounts etc., look at our forecast and we believe there is very attractive growth ahead,” he told CNBC's “Street Signs Europe.”
Novo Nordisk faces increasing competition within the weight-loss space from each smaller corporations and pharmaceutical giants akin to Roche, which last month released promising results from early-stage testing of its own potential obesity drug.
Jørgensen said that while the initial test data may attract attention, it might not impact Novo Nordisk's business within the short term. Referring to Novo Nordisk's product pipeline, the CEO said he stays “very confident” that the corporate can “remain competitive in the long term.”
Novo Nordisk's Wegovy has also brought promising news in recent months. The drug was approved in China within the second quarter, making it available on the earth's second-largest economy. Elsewhere, British and European health authorities said they might back Wegovy since it could reduce the chance of great heart problems in chubby and obese adults.
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