AFP, Paris :
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Monday it suffered a loss in the second quarter after it booked nearly three billion euros in write-downs of the value of its assets, but said it remained confident net profits would rise for the year.
The net loss of 87 million euros ($97 million) came despite a 5.5 percent increase in net sales to 8.6 billion euros, which was slightly higher than the analyst consensus compiled by financial data firm Factset.
The company pointed to a more than 20 percent jump in sales at Sanofi Genzyme, its bio-tech specialty care firm that it created following its 2011 acquisition of Genzyme for 15 billion euros, thanks to a strong launch of Dupixent, a treatment for atopic dermatitis and asthma.
Gross profits rose by 7.6 percent in the first half to 12.3 billion euros, but write-downs to the value of its assets and restructuring charges weighed in at over 3.7 billion euros.
Included in that was a 1.8-billion-euro charge against hemophilia treatment Eloctate due to disappointing sales in the United States, which fell by 11 percent on a comparative basis.
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Monday it suffered a loss in the second quarter after it booked nearly three billion euros in write-downs of the value of its assets, but said it remained confident net profits would rise for the year.
The net loss of 87 million euros ($97 million) came despite a 5.5 percent increase in net sales to 8.6 billion euros, which was slightly higher than the analyst consensus compiled by financial data firm Factset.
The company pointed to a more than 20 percent jump in sales at Sanofi Genzyme, its bio-tech specialty care firm that it created following its 2011 acquisition of Genzyme for 15 billion euros, thanks to a strong launch of Dupixent, a treatment for atopic dermatitis and asthma.
Gross profits rose by 7.6 percent in the first half to 12.3 billion euros, but write-downs to the value of its assets and restructuring charges weighed in at over 3.7 billion euros.
Included in that was a 1.8-billion-euro charge against hemophilia treatment Eloctate due to disappointing sales in the United States, which fell by 11 percent on a comparative basis.
