Novo Nordisk Lifts Guidance and Increases Buybacks -- Earnings Review

By Dominic Chopping

Novo Nordisk AS reported results for the first quarter on Wednesday. Here's what we watched:

SALES: Sales slipped 0.2% to 33.8 billion Danish kroner ($5.46 billion) from DKK33.88 billion, but beat analysts' expectations of DKK32.32 billion. The quarter was marked by strong sales within diabetes and obesity care, but growth this year was negatively affected by the pandemic-related stocking in the first quarter of 2020, partially offset by inventory changes and timing of shipments in 2021, the Danish pharmaceutical company said.

NET PROFIT: Net profit rose to DKK12.62 billion from DKK11.9 billion, above the DKK11.73 billion forecast by analysts in a FactSet poll.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1: Sales of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs, or GLP-1, for treating type 2 diabetes, rose 13% to DKK11.3 billion, with their market share of the GLP-1 market increasing 2.5 percentage points on the year to 50.8%.

MARGINS: Gross margin fell to 82.8% from 84.1% last year, while the operating margin fell to 44.3% against 48.1% in the first quarter of 2020.

BUYBACKS: The share-buyback program has been expanded by DKK1 billion to DKK18 billion, the company said.

GUIDANCE: Novo Nordisk raised guidance, saying it now expects 2021 sales growth of 6%-10% from 5%-9% previously, and operating profit growth of 5%-9% from 4%-8% in local currencies. Reported growth in sales and operating profit is still seen around four and six percentage points lower, respectively, than in local currencies, it said. The guidance reflects expectations for sales growth of the company's diabetes-care products Ozempic and Rybelsus as well as growth within obesity care, but also intensifying competition within diabetes care and biopharm and pricing pressure within diabetes care in the U.S., the company said.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2021 09:04 ET (13:04 GMT)

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