The key point: Novartis booked an impairment of almost 2 billion dollars in the third quarter after a failed clinical trial, cutting its net profit by 70%.
The clinical failure
- Treatment: del-desiran, for myotonic dystrophy type 1, a rare genetic disease.
- Consequence: net profit reduced to 1.20 billion dollars.
Underlying business
- Revenue: up 4.4%, above analysts’ consensus.
- Profitability: the adjusted operating margin rises by 2.3 points.
Key figures
- 14.52 billion $: quarterly revenue.
- 41,6 % : adjusted operating margin.
- 6.04 billion $: adjusted operating income, up 10.5%.
In short
Excluding the impairment, Novartis beat expectations. A single failed trial weighs heavily on reported profit.
