Novartis reported a 10% sales increase in 2023 as strong performance of its heart and arthritis drugs helped Europe’s second-largest drug company beat its forecast for the year.
The $244 billion Swiss group reported sales of more than $45 billion, with core operating profits of $16.3 billion, in a year in which it completed the spin-off of its consumer health division Sandoz .
While this met the group’s forecast for 2023, revenue was more than $1 billion below analyst estimates compiled by S&P.
Sales were led by heart failure drug Entresto and arthritis treatment Cosentyx, which accounted for $6 billion and $5 billion in total revenue, respectively.