Dive Brief:
- For Q3 2014, Novartis had increased earnings of 45%, or $3.2 billion, including $800 million in pre-tax sales from divesting Idenix to Merck.
- Sales were up 4% to $14.7 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations.
- Performance across divisions varied, with solid numbers from eye care and generics, but flat revenues ($7.9 billion) from the company's pharmaceutical portfolio, due largely to generic competition.
Dive Insight:
Novartis had a solid third quarter and has increased its target sales for the year. The company has vowed to sharpen its focus on core pharma, eye care, and generics business units.
Novartis is also nurturing its pipeline, with a focus on innovating in cardiovascular and psoriasis drug development. Although sales in the pharma unit were flat, Alcon (Novartis' eye care unit and its second-largest division) sales were up 5% to $2.7 billion, while sales of generics were up 6% to $2.4 billion. In this era of generic erosion, diversification and innovation are key drivers of success.