Today, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan announced the company’s financial results for the third quarter of 2018.
Commenting on the results, Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said: “We progressed our breakthrough medicines pipeline including our leading advanced therapy platforms in cell and gene and continued our strong operational performance.”

Novartis delivered strong growth and innovation during the third quarter, including progressing advanced therapy platforms to drive future growth
• Net sales grew 6% (cc1, +3% USD) mainly driven by:
o Cosentyx grew to USD 750 million (+37% cc) with strong volume growth across indications
o Entresto more than doubled to USD 271 million (+113% cc) driven by continued uptake worldwide
o Promacta/Revolade USD 295 million (+32% cc), Tafinlar + Mekinist USD 291 million (+33% cc) and Jakavi USD 248 million (+27% cc) continued strong double-digit growth
o AAA sales of USD 105 million, driven by the strong launch of Lutathera (USD 56 million)
• Core1 operating income grew 9% (cc, +5% USD), mainly driven by higher sales and improved gross margin, partly offset by growth investments, including AveXis
• Core EPS was USD 1.32 (+6% cc, +2% USD) as core operating income growth was partly offset by discontinuation of income from the GSK consumer healthcare joint venture
• Operating income declined 13% (cc, -18% USD) mainly due to net charges from the voluntary withdrawal of CyPass and higher restructuring, partly offset by growth in core operating income
• Net income declined 18% (cc, -22% USD) due to lower operating income and JV discontinuation
• Free cash flow1 grew 8% to USD 3.3 billion, mainly driven by cash flows from operating activities
• Innovation momentum continued with the progression of advanced therapy platforms:
o AVXS-101 simultaneous global submissions in US, EU and Japan2 for type 1 SMA
o Announced planned acquisition3 of Endocyte to accelerate radioligand therapy platform
o Kymriah CAR-T cell therapy approved by EMA for both r/r DLBCL and r/r pediatric ALL
o Luxturna gene therapy to restore vision and prevent blindness, received a positive CHMP opinion
• Additional innovation milestones:
o BYL719 alpha-specific PI3K inhibitor met phase III primary endpoint, full data at ESMO
o Gilenya showed superior efficacy to Copaxone® in patients with relapsing remitting MS
o BAF312 filed with both FDA and EMA for SPMS, planning for launch in early 2019 in the US
o Aimovig launched in Europe as the first CGRP treatment for migraine; strong US uptake
o EU Biosimilars Hyrimoz (adalimumab) approved and positive CHMP opinion for pegfilgrastim
• Alcon sales grew 5% (cc, +3% USD). Core operating income grew 1% (cc, -5% USD), reflecting timing of investments. Nine month core operating income grew 14% (cc, +15% USD)
• Dr. Klaus Moosmayer appointed Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer
• 2018 Group guidance: net sales revised upwards, expected to grow mid-single digit (cc); core operating income guidance confirmed, expected to grow mid to high-single digit (cc)

see & read more on
https://www.novartis.com/sites/www.novartis.com/files/q3-2018-media-release-en.pdf