Actelion Says Swiss Franc, Generics to Erode Earnings
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Actelion Ltd. said the strength of the franc may strip 8 percentage points from profit growth this year as the Swiss developer of drugs for a rare lung disease also faces generic competition for its bestselling medicine.
Excluding currency swings, 2015 core earnings will grow by a low single-digit percentage, the Allschwil, Switzerland-based company said in a statement today. Last year, earnings jumped 20 percent to 743 million francs ($800 million), missing the average analyst estimate of 776 million francs. The drugmaker also said it plans to buy back 10 million shares over three years, valued at about 1.05 billion francs as of Feb. 13.