Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which became the most valuable company in Europe last year due to the blockbuster success of its weight loss drugs, on Thursday beat profit estimates for the first quarter.
Net profit rose 28% year-on-year to 25.4 billion Danish kroner ($3.65 billion), versus analyst expectations of 23.7 billion kroner, according to an LSEG poll.
Sales of popular weight loss drug Wegovy more than doubled to 9.38 billion kroner.
Overall North America sales rose 35%, as the company flagged that Wegovy had been approved in the U.S. in the first quarter for cardiovascular risk reduction in people with obesity.
“We are pleased with the sales growth in the first three months of 2024, driven by increased demand for our GLP-1-based diabetes and obesity treatments,” CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said in a statement.
Novo Nordisk raised its outlook for 2024, nudging its sales growth outlook range one percentage point higher, to 19% to 27% at constant exchange rates. It also upped its operating growth forecast to 22% to 30% from a previous forecast of 21% to 29%.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.
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