Novartis has reported net income from continuing operations of $2.68bn for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, marking a 25% increase from $2.15bn in Q1 2023.
This growth was primarily attributed to a surge in operating income.
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Operating income from continuing operations saw a substantial rise to $3.37bn for Q1 2024 from $2.61bn in the previous year’s first quarter, driven by an increase in net sales.
The company’s net sales from continuing operations stood at $11.8bn in Q1 2024, an increase from $10.79bn in Q1 2023.
Novartis experienced a 24% decrease in free cash flow from continuing operations, which amounted to $2bn, compared to $2.68bn in the same period last year because of a previous-year one-timer and timing of payments.
Core operating income showed a 16% increase to $4.5bn, primarily due to the higher net sales while core net income rose by 14% to $3.7bn.
As of 31 March 2024, Novartis’ net debt grew to $15.8bn, up from $10.2bn at the end of 2023.
This increase was largely due to the $5.2bn annual net dividend payment in March 2023, cash flow for treasury share transactions of $1.1bn, and $1.2bn net cash outflow for mergers and acquisitions, offset partially by the $2bn free cash flow.
Looking ahead, Novartis has raised its full-year 2024 guidance, now expecting net sales to grow in the high-single to low double-digit range and core operating income to increase from low double-digit to mid-teens.
Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said: “Novartis continued our strong momentum with both sales growth and core margin expansion in Q1.
“Our performance was broad-based, across all key growth brands and geographies, allowing us to raise guidance for the full year 2024. We continued to advance our pipeline in Q1, with submission-enabling data for Scemblix first-line, Pluvicto pre-taxane and remibrutinib in CSU. The momentum in our business and pipeline gives us continued confidence in our mid- and long-term growth outlook.”
Earlier this month, Novartis signed a licence agreement for Arvinas’ ARV-766, a new treatment for prostate cancer
