Sanofi hails sales surge in third quarter, but vaccine sales lower

Sanofi SA on Friday said pharma launches increased sales in the third quarter while it spent more on research & development, meanwhile net profit dipped.

The Paris-based pharmaceutical company said net profit fell 0.5% on-year to EUR2.80 billion in the three months that ended September 30, while net sales rose 2.3% to EUR12.43 billion.

Sanofi highlighted that pharma launches increased sales by 57%, reaching EUR1.0 billion, helped by Altuviiio and Ayvakit. Altuviiio treats haemophilia A, while Ayvakit treats some types of cancer and blood disorders in adults.

Meanwhile, vaccine sales fell 7.8% to EUR3.4 billion due to lower influenza sales.

Business operating income climbed 2.7% to EUR4.44 billion, while business earnings per share were up 7.0% at EUR2.91.

Spending on research & development increased 4.9% to EUR1.8 billion.

The company said in its pipeline it awaits approval for Wayrilz in the US for immune thrombocytopenia, a rare disorder where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys its own platelets.

Further, Sanofi awaits approval for Tzield in China for delaying onset of stage 3, type 1 diabetes.

Looking ahead, the company anticipates sales to grow by a high single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates. It confirmed the expectation of a "strong" business earnings per share rebound with growth at a low double-digit percentage at a constant exchange rate before share buybacks.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson said Sanofi will complete its share buyback programme by the end of 2025.

He added: "Sanofi will strategically deploy capital towards growth and differentiated science with expected attractive financial returns. As we are looking forward to 2026, we are confident in our ability to pursue our current trajectory of profitable growth."