Swiss drugmaker Novartis raises 2025 forecast after strong Q1 momentum

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By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Novartis released a more optimistic full-year earnings forecast on Tuesday, citing the strong growth of drugs such as Leqvio, Kisqali and Kesimpta during the first quarter.

The Swiss drugmaker said in a statement that it expects 2025 operating income, adjusted for special items, to grow by a “low double-digit” percentage.

It had previously projected “high single to low double-digit” growth this year, compared with a 22% increase in 2024.

First-quarter net income, adjusted for special items, rose 22% to $4.48 billion, surpassing an analyst consensus of about $4.2 billion.

The company’s breast cancer drug Kisqali saw quarterly revenues jump 52% to $956 million, while sales of cholesterol-lowering drug Leqvio surged 70% to $257 million, gaining momentum after a slow launch. Both beat market expectations.

“We expect the strong quarter along with the 2025 guidance upgrade … to be well-received,” JP Morgan analysts said in a research note, adding that the analyst consensus on adjusted earnings for 2025 was set to rise by 1%.

Novartis said this month it plans to spend $23 billion to build and expand 10 facilities in the U.S., as it grapples with threats of drug import duties by the Trump administration.

Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan said that the company had historically expanded capacity in Europe and other regions to serve the United States, which is its biggest market. “We now want to ensure that 100% of the demand of our key products in the U.S. is produced in the U.S.,” Narasimhan said in a media call, declining to provide details on volumes.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Paul Arnold in Zurich; Editing by Thomas Seythal, Friederike Heine and Rachna Uppal)