Sanofi 1Q Rises 8.2%, Says On Track To Meet Guidance
- By Mimosa Spencer Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Drugs giant Sanofi-Aventis (SAN.FR, SNY) Thursday posted an 8.2% rise in fourth-quarter net profit, lifted by its diabetes drug Lantus, acquisitions and a boost from sales of A H1N1 flu vaccines and said it is on track to meet its full year target. Net profit for the three months ended March 31 was EUR1.71 billion compared to EUR1.58 billion a year ago. Sanofi's revenue rose 3.9%, to EUR7.39 billion, just shy of analyst estimates for EUR7.44 billion, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 9 analysts. Fast sales growth from Lantus helped offset a drop in revenues from generic competition to its cancer drug Eloxatin. Sanofi confirmed its full-year target. The company said it expects to record growth of "business" earnings per share at constant rates of 2%-5% this year, excluding the effect of potential generic competition to its blood thinner Lovenox. Business profit is the company's measure of net income attributable to equity holders excluding items such as amortization of intangible assets, impacts from acquisitions, restructuring costs and tax effects. Sanofi over the first-quarter continued to bolster its alternative sources of growth to blockbuster drugs facing patent expirations. Blockbuster is an industry term for drugs generating over $1 billion in annual sales. In the past year, Sanofi Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher has built the company's acquisition strategy around vaccines, generics and over-the-counter portfolios, with a specific focus on emerging markets and on diabetes. The company made EUR6.6 billion-worth of acquisitions last year. Sanofi shares have risen nearly 20% in the past twelve months, at a similar rate to the Paris CAC-40 index, up 22% over the same period. Pharmaceutical companies have shown resilience over the economic downturn, with vaccine makers getting an extra lift from government-sponsored A1H1 flu vaccination campaigns. U.K.-based rival GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) Wednesday beat expectations with its first quarter earnings. Sanofi shares closed at EUR51.88 Wednesday. Company Web site: www.sanofi-aventis.com By Mimosa Spencer, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40 17 17 73; mimosa.spencer@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=HWdzNLbkw7gesZ4hXriZDQ%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
