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Novo Nordisk hiked annual profit guidance on Wednesday, as the pharmaceutical group revealed its blockbuster weight-loss drugs performed better than expected in the first three months of the year.
The Danish drugmaker said first-quarter sales jumped 32% on a constant currency basis to reach 96.8 billion Danish kroner ($15.2 billion), soaring above an analyst consensus of 71.3 billion kroner compiled by FactSet. Operating profit surged 65% year-on-year to 59.6 billion kroner, also hugely beating expectations of 31.7 billion kroner.
On an adjusted basis, however, sales fell 4% and profits dropped 6%.
Adjusted figures exclude a $4.2 billion non-recurring impact from a provision reversal related to the 340B Drug Pricing Program in the U.S., Novo said.
