Shares in Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) rose today after the company beat expectations on Wall Street with its 1st quarter results.
The French company posted profits of $5.7 billion on sales of $8.65 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 413.5% on sales growth of 11.2% compared with the same period last year.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.55, ahead of consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $8.40 billion.
“We have started the year with robust growth driven by specialty care and vaccines as well as good performance in emerging markets. Our top line in the 1st quarter also benefited from the integration of the Boehringer Ingelheim CHC and European vaccine businesses,” CEO Olivier Brandicourt said in prepared remarks. “At the same time, the simplified organization continues to contribute to Sanofi’s financial performance. The U.S. launch of Dupixent for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis marks a key innovation milestone on our strategic roadmap and lays the foundation for our new immunology franchise. We are excited to bring this highly innovative medicine to patients suffering from this devastating disease.”
Sales were down for the company’s diabetes products and Sanofi cited the exclusion from various CVS commercial formularies as the primary cause.
SNY shares were trading at $46.97 apiece today in afternoon trading, up 0.2%.
