Sanofi Q3 Earnings Beat, Dupixent, New Drugs, Vaccines Drive Sales

Sanofi SNY reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $1.57 per American depositary share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35 per share. Earnings of €2.86 per share rose 12.2% on a reported basis and 17.6% on a constant currency rate (“CER”) basis.Net sales rose 12.3% on a reported basis to $14.77 billion (€13.44 billion). Exchange rate movements hurt sales by 3.4% in the quarter. Sales rose 15.7% on a CER basis. Sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.39 billion.Sales rose 23.6% at CER in the United States and 10.3% in the Rest of the World (including China, Japan, Brazil and Russia) and 6.6% in Europe.All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-on-year basis and at CER.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.SNY Segment PerformanceSanofi’s Biopharma segment includes Pharma and Vaccines. Biopharma sales rose 16.6% in the quarter to €12.17 billion.Pharma sales increased 13.0% in the quarter to €8.37 billion, mainly driven by Dupixent and new product launches. Vaccine sales rose 25.5% to €3.8 billion, driven by earlier-than-anticipated deliveries of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), vaccine Beyfortus and flu vaccines.Dupixent Continues to Drive SNY’s Top LineIn Immunology, Dupixent generated sales of €3.48 billion in the quarter, up 23.8% year over year.Sales of the drug in the United States rose 19.1%, driven by strong demand in its approved indications, atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, eosinophilic esophagitis and prurigo nodularis. Dupixent sales rose 35.1% in Europe and 41.9% in the Rest of the World, driven mainly by sales in Japan and China. Dupixent was approved for its sixth indication — chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — in Europe in July and in the United States in September 2024, which should boost sales further in future quarters.Sanofi markets Dupixent in partnership with Regeneron REGN. While sales are recorded by Sanofi, Regeneron records its share of profits/losses in connection with global sales of Dupixent.SNY’s Rare Disease Drugs’ PerformanceAmong Sanofi’s rare disease drugs, new rare blood disorder drug Altuviiio, a once-weekly new class of factor VIII therapy for hemophilia A, recorded sales of €172 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared with €158 million in the previous quarter, mainly driven by patient switches in the U.S. hemophilia A market. Altuviiio was launched in the United States and Japan last year. Altuviiio was approved in the EU in the second quarter.New drug, Nexviazyme/Nexviadzyme recorded sales of €163 million, up 53.6% year over year. While sales were strong in Europe and the Rest of the World segments, growth slowed down in the United States as a high rate of conversion from Myozyme/Lumizyme has already been achieved.Xenpozyme recorded sales of €41 million in the quarter, up 51.9% year over year.Among the rare disease drugs in the Pompe franchise, Myozyme sales declined 7.5% year over year to €168 million due to patients switching to Nexviazyme. Fabrazyme sales were €253 million, up 4% year over year. In the Gaucher franchise, Cerezyme sales rose 8% year over year to €164 million.Cablivi recorded sales of €63 million, up 12.5% year over year, driven by patient growth in the United States.Among the rare blood disorder drugs, Eloctate sales declined 19.2% to €96 million in the quarter due to patients switching to the new drug Altuviiio in the United States.New drug Enjaymo recorded sales of €28 million in the quarter compared with €26 million in the previous quarter. Sanofi has sold global rights to Enjaymo to Recordati. The transaction is expected to close this year.SNY’s Neurology, Oncology & Other DrugsIn neurology medicines, Aubagio sales declined 52.3% year over year to €92 million due to generic competition.In Oncology, Sarclisa sales rose 23.7% year over year to €114 million, driven by market share gains in Europe and the Rest of the World, specifically Japan.In Others, Rezurock recorded sales of €131 million, up 57.8% year over year, driven by strong launch uptake. Tzield sales were €15 million in the quarter, compared with €11 million in the previous quarter. Tzield, approved to delay the onset of type I diabetes, was added to Sanofi’s portfolio with the 2023 acquisition of Provention Bio.Toujeo recorded sales of €303, up 18.1% year over year, driven mainly by higher sales in United States and China. Lantus sales rose 33.8% to €431.0 million.Plavix sales increased 8.3% to €230 million. Lovenox sales decreased 1.2% to €233 million.Beyfortus Drives SNY’s Vaccines Sales ImprovementSales of flu vaccines rose 10.9% year over year, driven by earlier-than-anticipated deliveries. Sales of PPH vaccines rose 2% year over year due to slightly higher demand of booster vaccines in some countries. Sales of meningitis, travel and other endemic vaccines rose 13.1% year over year in the quarter.Sanofi and partner AstraZeneca’s AZN RSV antibody Beyfortus (nirsevimab) recorded sales of €645 million in the third quarter, significantly more than €18 million in the previous quarter. Beyfortus sales benefited from early deliveries in the United States and launch in some countries like Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Ireland. Sanofi got license approval for two additional filling lines for Beyfortus production which improved the vaccine’s supply.AstraZeneca-partnered Beyfortus was launched in the United States and Europe for preventing RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease in newborns and infants in 2023.SNY's Opella on Track to be DivestedLast year, Sanofi announced its intention to separate its Consumer Healthcare ("CHC") unit through the creation of a publicly listed entity headquartered in Paris called Opella. Last week Sanofi said it is conducting exclusive negotiations with U.S. based private equity firm, CD&R to sell 50% controlling stake in Opella. The transaction is not expected to close before the second quarter of 2025.The deal values Opella at an enterprise value of almost 16 billion euros or 14 times EBITDA for 2024.The Opella standalone unit generated sales of €1.27 billion in the third quarter, up 7.9%, supported by the Qunol acquisition.SNY's Improved 2024 GuidanceLast week, the company also raised its earnings growth expectations for 2024 based on a strong business performance in the first half. Including Opella, it expects its earnings to be stable to up by a low single-digit percentage compared with the previous expectation of being stable at a constant exchange rate (CER). Excluding Opella, Sanofi expects its EPS to grow by at least a low-single-digit percentage at CER in 2024.Sanofi maintained the updated earnings growth guidance along with the third-quarter results. Sanofi anticipates a negative currency impact in the range of 5.5%-6.0% on adjusted earnings. In 2024, Dupixent sales are expected to be around €13 billion.Our Take on SNY’s Q3 ResultsSanofi’s quarterly results were strong as it beat estimates for both earnings and sales. This French pharma giant’s top-line growth of almost 16% was driven by higher sales of Dupixent and contributions from new products like Altuviiio, Rezurock and Nexviazyme, which offset the impact of generic competition on Aubagio sales. Sales of its newly launched drugs rose 67.1% in the quarter. Vaccine sales also improved in the quarter, boosted by early delivery of flu sales and by Beyfortus due to approved production capacity.Sanofi’s shares rose 2.8% in pre-market trading on Friday in response to the strong quarterly performance.Sanofi’s stock is up 4.7% so far this year compared with the industry’s rise of 18.8%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchSanofi’s raised earnings growth expectations for 2024 are encouraging. It expects earnings to rebound strongly in 2025. Sanofi is investing in its new product launches to optimize its success. Sanofi also has a strong immunology and neuro-inflammation pipeline, which includes some potential blockbuster assets in phase III development, including amlitelimab, frexalimab and tolebrutinib.SNY's Zacks Rank & Stock to ConsiderSanofi currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).A better-ranked large drugmaker is Eli Lilly LLY, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Estimates for Lilly’s 2024 earnings have declined from $16.47 to $13.83 per share over the past 30 days. The decline in estimates could be due to costs related to the acquisition of Morphic, which was closed in August and should be recorded as a charge against earnings in the third quarter.  For 2025, earnings estimates have risen from $23.97 to $24.24 per share over the same timeframe. Year to date, Lilly’s stock has risen 52.9%.Lilly beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, delivering a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 69.07%.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.7% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report Sanofi (SNY): Free Stock Analysis Report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks