Sanofi, net profit down 35.5% to EUR 5.4 billion

The French pharmaceutical group Sanofi ended 2023 with a net profit of €5.4 billion, down 35.5% compared to 2022 against stable (+0.2%) sales of €43.1 billion (+5.3% at constant exchange rates), despite stronger growth in the fourth quarter (+9.3% at constant exchange rates to €10.9 billion). Earnings per share (EPS) 2023 fell 35.6% to EUR 4.3, while corporate EPS excluding exceptional items fell 1.8% to EUR 8.1, but rose 5.4% at constant exchange rates. More or less the same changes are reported by the corporate net profit, at EUR 10.2 billion. "2023 was a pivotal year in our journey to become a development-oriented, technology-driven biopharmaceutical company committed to serving patients and accelerating growth," comments CEO Paul Hudson, who points to the "strong performance" of the Specialty Care and Vaccines businesses.

Spaccato dei ricavi per divisione

Presentazione Sanofi agli analisti

The results were announced by the pharmaceutical group, which will offer shareholders a dividend of EUR 3.76, up 5.6%. The share price dropped just over 0.5% on the Paris market today and has a positive balance over the past year of around 2%.

Andamento del dividendo dal 1994

Presentazione Sanofi agli analisti

"With scientific news flow at an all-time high, breakthroughs in the pipeline and 12 potential blockbuster drugs in advanced development, our transformation in R&D has reached a turning point on the road to leadership in immunology," adds the CEO, who continues: "Looking ahead, we remain committed to investing in R&S to fully exploit the value of our pipeline, based on large-scale artificial intelligence, and continue to focus on planned launch opportunities. At the same time, we are taking steps to become a pure biopharmaceutical company'.

By 2030, the group expects pharmaceutical launches to contribute more than EUR 10 billion to sales. For the current financial year, Sanofi expects corporate EPS to be almost stable, excluding the impact of the planned increase in the tax rate to 21%. Considering this, the group expects a single-digit decline for the same parameter at constant exchange rates.

As of 1 April next, François-Xavier Roger will take over as chief financial officer (cfo) of French pharmaceutical group Sanofi and join the executive committee. He succeeds Jan-Baptiste Chasseloup de Chatillon, who will leave his role to head the 'Apprentis d'Auteuil' Foundation, which focuses on education, instruction and support for young people in difficulty.