Photo: Tom Little/Reuters (file)
Novo Nordisk raised its full-year outlook Wednesday after quarterly sales of its Wegovy weight-loss pill reached 5.39 billion Danish kroner, giving the company a stronger oral-drug business as it competes with Eli Lilly.
The Danish drugmaker now expects 2026 adjusted sales and adjusted operating profit growth of between negative 2% and positive 2% at constant exchange rates. Its previous forecast called for a decline of as much as 6%, with flat growth at the top of the range.
The upgrade is a forecast, not a declaration that the company has completed its recovery. Chief Executive Mike Doustdar told CNBC that one strong quarter does not establish a turnaround.
Oral Wegovy builds a larger sales base
Sales of the pill rose 53% from the second quarter and exceeded the 4.62 billion kroner forecast in company-compiled consensus, Reuters reported. The product launched in the United States in January.
Novo’s financial report said the pill had launched in the United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Germany by the end of September. Subsequent launches brought the number of markets to eight.
The broader quarter remained mixed. Total sales were 79.20 billion kroner, up 6% in Danish kroner and 4% at constant exchange rates. Obesity-treatment sales rose 22% at constant exchange rates, but total diabetes sales fell 5% on the same basis.
Injectable Wegovy generated 20.41 billion kroner in sales, down 2% at constant exchange rates. Ozempic sales were 29.71 billion kroner, down 5% at constant exchange rates. The pill’s growth therefore does not mean every major franchise is expanding.
Adjusted growth differs from reported profit
Adjusted operating profit was 31.72 billion kroner, up 34% in Danish kroner and 27% at constant exchange rates. Reported operating profit was 23.01 billion kroner, down 3% in Danish kroner and 9% at constant exchange rates. Reported quarterly net profit fell 16% to 16.74 billion kroner.
The distinction matters because Novo’s improved guidance uses adjusted measures. Its report separates exceptional and non-recurring items from those measures; the adjusted figures should not be read as reported accounting profit.
Novo said stronger expectations for GLP-1 product sales support the revised outlook. It still expects lower realized prices and intensifying competition to weigh on the business, including pressure in the United States and the loss of semaglutide exclusivity in some international markets.
For the drug industry, the results provide another test of whether tablets can broaden the obesity-treatment market beyond injections. For Novo, the immediate challenge is turning rising volumes into durable growth while defending pricing and market share.
JBizNews Desk | New York
© JBizNews.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution is strictly prohibited.
