Excluding the impact of currency changes, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s sales during the first nine months of the year rose 13% to 102.5bn Danish Kroner (DKK). This was driven by strong growth in GLP-1 treatments while Biopharm sales saw a modest uptick.
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Operating profit for the period rose 12% to DKK 45bn.
The group announced plans to expand its buyback programme by DKK 2bn to DKK 20bn and expects underlying full year sales and operating profit growth between 12% and 15%
The shares rose 1.6% following the announcement
Novo Nordisk GLP-1 Sales
Laura Hoy Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:
“Novo’s firing on all cylinders as sales of its Diabetes and Obesity treatments picked up speed. The rollout of Wegovy in the US helped North American Obesity sales nearly double and cemented the group’s position as the leader in obesity prescription drugs. Strong growth among GLP-1 drugs was also encouraging, bringing the group a step closer to its goal of serving a third of the global diabetes market.
Strong growth meant the group is able to throw another DKK2bn back to shareholders via buybacks and maintain its rosy revenue and profit growth figures, reaffirming our view that Novo is a strong player in a growing part of the Pharmaceutical space.
The only shadow of doubt came from Novo’s Insulin sales, which struggled against volume and price declines in the US. This could be a long-term problem with insulin pricing under pressure in the US, but has been more than offset by growth in other areas of the business.“
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