Sanofi raises full-year forecast after strong second-quarter profit

(Reuters) – Sanofi’s second-quarter profit rose 3.2% due to strong demand for its blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent and better-than-expected sales of new launches, with the company now expecting a profit flat for the full year compared to a previous forecast of flat profit for the full year. to fall.

Operating profit, excluding one-off items, rose 3.2% to 2.81 billion euros ($3.05 billion), above the 2.08 billion euros expected on average by analysts in a survey on the company’s website .

The company now forecasts flat earnings per share in the 2024 business, up from its previous forecast of a low single-digit percentage decline.

Sales of Dupixent, approved to treat conditions such as asthma and eczema, rose 29.2% to €3.30 billion, above analysts’ consensus estimates of €3.18 billion.

The anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent, on which Sanofi is partnering with Regeneron, has long been an important driver of growth, and the company has been looking to expand its use to other conditions.

Still, Sanofi has faced concerns from shareholders that it is overly reliant on Dupixent.

The French pharmaceutical company has increased spending on research and development to revitalize its portfolio of experimental medicines and vaccines. It unexpectedly abandoned its 2025 margin targets in October for the R&D push, triggering a sell-off in its shares.

Sanfoi’s new launches include hemophilia treatment Altuviio, Beyfortus to prevent a common respiratory infection in babies and type 1 diabetes treatment Tzield.

Quarterly sales of Beyfortus, which it sells with AstraZeneca, amounted to 18 million euros, against expectations of 15 million euros.

Altuviio sales amounted to 158 million euros, above estimates of 139 million.

Investors have been closely monitoring the performance of new launches to assess their short-term earnings potential.

($1 = 0.9226 euros)

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)