PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French drugmaker Sanofi (SNY, SNYNF) Thursday reported a 23 percent decline in profit for the third quarter, adding that it expects full year profit to fall from last year.
Net income attributable to equityholders of the company declined to 1.559 billion euros from 2.030 billion euros in the previous year. Earnings per share fell to 1.18 euros from 1.52 euros.
Business earnings per share were 1.68 euros per share, while it was 1.79 euros per share last year.
Net sales increased to 9.040 billion euros from 8.753 billion euros in the prior year. Sales dropped 3.1 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Net sales lost to generic competition were 448 million euros, primarily due to generic competition to Eloxatin in the U.S.
Sanofi Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Viehbacher said, 'The loss of exclusivity for Eloxatin in August in the U.S. marks the final step in the genericization of our legacy blockbusters. The solid performance of our growth platforms which account for over 70% of sales, coupled with tight cost control, allowed us to limit the impact of the patent cliff on business EPS this quarter.'
Looking ahead, the company said it expects business earnings per share for the year to be around 12 percent lower at current exchange rates than 2011.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX