PARIS (Reuters) – Sanofi confirmed on Thursday that it is targeting a decline in its net profit per share (EPS) from its activities in 2024 due to the expected increase in its tax rate, after a performance in line with its expectations last year .
The pharmaceutical group expects a decline “in the low single digit range” taking into account this effect and an EPS “roughly stable” compared to 2023 excluding it.
In 2023, EPS increased by 5.4% at constant exchange rates, to 8.11 euros, in line with Sanofi’s objective which had said it was aiming for an increase of around 5%.
The group benefited last year from the good health of its Vaccines and Specialty Medicine divisions, whose turnover increased by 21.1% and 13.7% respectively in the fourth quarter.
Consumer Healthcare sales increased by 8.5% while those of the General Medicine division fell by 2.4%.
In October, Sanofi presented a plan to spin off its Consumer Healthcare business, ultimately aiming for an IPO. The group did not report any progress on this front in its results press release.
It had also abandoned its operating margin objective for 2025 due to investments made in research and development, causing its stock to fall by almost 19% in a single session.
“We will continue to invest in R&D, capitalizing on artificial intelligence, and we remain focused on our launch opportunities, such as Dupixent in COPD,” commented Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, quoted in the communicated.
In November, Sanofi said it planned to seek U.S. marketing authorization for its best-selling anti-inflammatory drug, Dupixent, for the treatment of “smoker’s lung,” also known as COPD, after A second large trial showed significant improvements in patients.
In a separate press release, Sanofi also announced on Thursday the appointment of François-Xavier Roger as financial director, replacing Jean-Baptiste Chasseloup de Chatillon.
François-Xavier Roger, who until now was financial director of Nestlé, will take up his position on April 1.
(Written by Blandine Hénault, edited by Kate Entringer)
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