Roche Reports Slight Sales Increase in Q1 2024 Amid Post-COVID Recovery

Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, announced a modest rise in its first-quarter sales for 2024 as the company continues to recover from the post-COVID-19 downturn. The company's group sales declined 6% to 14.40 billion Swiss francs compared to the same period last year, but at constant exchange rates, sales actually increased by 2%.

The sales growth was primarily driven by strong demand for Roche's newer medicines and diagnostic products, which helped offset the anticipated decline in COVID-19-related sales and the impact of biosimilar and generic competition. Excluding COVID-19-related products, Roche's quarterly sales increased by an impressive 7%.

Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division saw a 2% increase in sales, with key drugs like Vabysmo, Phesgo, Ocrevus, Polivy, and Hemlibra performing well. This helped counterbalance the expected drop in sales of the COVID-19 medicine Ronapreve. Similarly, the Diagnostics Division's sales were up 2%, with the base business growing 8%, although lower demand for COVID-19 tests pulled down the division's overall sales.

Why this matters: Roche's Q1 2024 results provide insight into the pharmaceutical industry's ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's ability to maintain growth despite the challenges posed by the strong Swiss franc and declining COVID-related sales highlights the importance of a diversified product portfolio and a focus on innovation.

Looking ahead, Roche expects group sales to grow in the mid-single-digit range at constant exchange rates for the fiscal year 2024. The company also targets to develop its core earnings per share broadly in line with sales growth, excluding the impact from the resolution of tax disputes in 2023. Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker stated, "The COVID-19-related impact on sales is largely behind us, and we anticipate a return to growth this year driven by increasing demand for our newly launched medicines."

In addition to its financial performance, Roche also made significant progress in its product pipeline. The company received FDA approvals for Alecensa as an adjuvant treatment for ALK-positive early-stage lung cancer and Xolair for food allergies. Furthermore, the Elecsys pTau217 assay was granted Breakthrough Device Designation to support earlier Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.

Roche's Q1 2024 results demonstrate the company's resilience and ability to

Key Takeaways

• Roche's Q1 2024 sales declined 6% but grew 2% at constant rates.
• Strong demand for newer medicines and diagnostics offset COVID-19 revenue loss.
• Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics divisions saw 2% sales growth, excluding COVID-19.
• Roche expects mid-single-digit sales growth for FY 2024 at constant rates.
• Roche made pipeline progress with FDA approvals and Alzheimer's diagnostic breakthrough.