By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Novartis reported fourth-quarter core operating income gained 9% as higher drug sales offset in increase in marketing and development costs.
The Swiss pharma giant’s quarterly core operating income came in at $3.8 billion, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shoring up group sales, revenues from arthritis and psoriasis drug Cosentyx gained 13% to $1.24 billion, slightly below average analyst expectations of $1.3 billion, based on Refinitiv data.
Revenues from heart failure treatment Entresto jumped 34% to $949 million, broadly in line with the market consensus.
Novartis added it expected core operating income to grow in the mid-single-digit percentage range this year.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Michael Shields)
