PFE Pfizer Inc

By Noemie Bisserbe

PARIS--French drugmaker Sanofi SA (SNY) said fourth-quarter net profit more than doubled, aided by lower amortization and restructuring costs.

On Wednesday, the Paris-based drugmaker said net profit rose to 790 million euros ($843 million) from EUR334 million a year earlier.

Business net income, the company's term for adjusted income excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestments, declined 6% to EUR1.61 billion hit by higher taxes. That beat analysts' expectations of EUR1.59 billion, according to a poll by data provider FactSet. Total sales rose 3% to EUR8.87 billion.

Sanofi said it expects business earnings per share--excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestments--to be stable or decline by up to 3% in 2017 at constant exchange rates. Currency movements could, however, have a 3% to 4% positive impact on revenue in 2017, the company said.

The company's guidance reflects the pressure on Sanofi to replenish its new drugs pipeline as some of its best-selling drugs go off patent.

To revive its fortunes, Sanofi has been in pursuit of innovative pharmaceutical companies for months. It lost out to Pfizer Inc. (PFE) in a bidding war for cancer drug maker Medivation in August. Late last year, talks with Actelion Ltd. (ATLN.EB) collapsed after the French major and the Swiss biotech failed to hash out an agreement. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) agreed to take over Actelion for $30 billion in January.

On Wednesday, Sanofi Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt sought to reassure investors about the group's growth prospects. "We are not in a hurry to do M&A," he told reporters.

Sanofi will pay shareholders a dividend of EUR2.96 a share for 2016.

-Write Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2017 02:59 ET (07:59 GMT)

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