Novo Nordisk's Wegovy vaccine is seen in an illustrative photo taken at a pharmacy in Krakow, Poland, on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jakub Borzycki | Noor Photo | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter net profit and cut its operating profit forecast.
The pharmaceutical giant said net profit was 20.05 billion Danish kroner ($2.93 billion) in the three months to the end of June. LSEG consensus forecasts had expected the figure to reach 20.9 billion Danish kroner.
EBIT was DKK 25.93 billion in the second quarter, which was also below LSEG's forecast of DKK 26.86 billion.
Novo Nordisk also lowered its operating profit forecast for the full fiscal year 2024, saying growth is now expected to be between 20% and 28%, instead of the previously expected range of 22% to 30%.
In the first quarter of 2024, Wegovy reported a 28% increase in net profit to DKK 25.4 billion year-on-year, slightly raising its expectations for sales growth and operating profit.
Sales growth expectations were raised again on Wednesday, with the company now issuing guidance of 22% to 28% at constant exchange rates for the full fiscal year 2024. Sales growth expectations for the period had previously been set at 19% to 27%.
Sales of the popular weight loss drug Wegovy increased by 55% in the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, to reach 11.66 billion kroner.
Novo Nordisk faces increasing competition in the weight-loss space, both from smaller companies and from pharmaceutical giants such as Roche, which last month shared promising early-stage trial data for its obesity drug candidate.
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy has also been a promising news story in recent months. The drug was approved in China in the second quarter, opening the door to its sale in the world’s second-largest economy. Elsewhere, medical regulators in the UK and the European Union have said they are backing Wegovy as a way to reduce the risk of serious heart disease in overweight and obese adults.
This breaking news story is being updated.
