Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 Medicine Impresses, Guidance Upgraded -- Earnings Review

By Carlo Martuscelli

Novo Nordisk AS (NOVO-B.KO) reported its second-quarter results on Friday. Here's what you need to know:

SALES: The Danish pharmaceutical company said that sales in the quarter rose 9.6% to 30.04 billion Danish kroner ($4.51 billion), ahead of the DKK29.50 analyst consensus forecast compiled by FactSet.

NET PROFIT: Net profit was DKK 9.6 billion in the second quarter, compared with DKK10.34 billion in the year-earlier period, and slightly below the FactSet-compiled consensus estimate of DKK9.62 billion.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

-GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1: Novo Nordisk's diabetes medicine, Ozempic, helped drive up the top-line in an strong quarterly performance, in what Jefferies called an impressive beat to expectations. The glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, drug now holds 35% of the new-to-brand market share in the U.S.

-MARGINS: Gross margins in the half year contracted to 83.9% from 84.3%, in line with Sydbank's models. The company attributed the margin move to lower U.S. prices, as well as sales growth in its lower-margin insulin products, partially offset by positive currency effects.

-GUIDANCE: The drugmaker will have impressed investors with a guidance upgrade. After a solid half-year performance, Novo Nordisk said it now sees full-year sales growth in 2019 at between 4%-6% on a constant currency basis. This is up from its previous range of 2%-5%. It also narrowed its operating profit outlook to the upper end of its range, to between 4%-6%, from a previous range of 2%-6%. It attributed the upgrade to an expected strong performance from Ozempic, as well as another GLP-1 diabetes product, Victoza, together with obesity medicine Saxenda.

Write to Carlo Martuscelli at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 09, 2019 06:29 ET (10:29 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.