Novartis Profit Falls as Generics Hurt Sales of Gleevec Drug
- Swiss drugmaker reiterates 2016 forecast for sales, profit
- Earnings per share of $1.23 beat analysts’ estimate of $1.20
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Novartis AG, Europe’s second-biggest drugmaker by sales, said profit fell for the seventh straight quarter as generic competition eroded sales of blockbuster cancer treatment Gleevec.
Third-quarter earnings excluding some items fell 3 percent to $1.23 a share from $1.27 a year earlier, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said Tuesday in a statement. That beat the $1.20 average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.