SAN Sanofi

   By Cecilia Butini 
 

Sanofi SA on Friday posted a swing to profit for the fourth quarter of 2020 but said that sales declined on year.

The French pharmaceutical company said that net profit came in at 1.08 billion euros ($1.29 billion) for the period, up from a loss of EUR10 million in the same period last year.

Sales came in at EUR9.38 billion, the company said, down from EUR9.61 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

A consensus estimate provided by FactSet saw net income at EUR741.9 million and sales at EUR9.54 billion for the quarter.

Business net income was EUR1.53 billion in the quarter, largely flat from the previous year, Sanofi said.

Sales of Sanofi's growth driver Dupixent rose 54.2% on year in the quarter despite the coronavirus pandemic, the company said. This strong performance drove pharmaceuticals sales in the quarter, which largely offset lower sales in the general medicines business, Sanofi said.

For 2021, the company expects business earnings per share to grow by a high-single digit at constant exchange rates, barring unforeseen events.

In the medium term, Sanofi confirmed its target of expanding business operating income margin to 30% by 2022, adding that the company is nearing its 2022 target as planned.

The company also said that it is increasing its cost savings target by EUR500 million to EUR2.5 billion by 2022, as will be discussed at its capital markets day later Friday.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2021 02:18 ET (07:18 GMT)

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