- Forex effects damp Roche's drug sales growth
- CEO Schinecker's tenure has seen drug trial wins
- Roche invests in obesity drugs despite competition
FRANKFURT, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Roche's adjusted operating income rose by a lower-than-expected 5% in 2025 as gains in drugs such as Ocrevus against multiple sclerosis and Hemlibra against haemophilia were blunted by a weak U.S. dollar weighing on overseas sales.
The lower-than-expected earnings cloud a positive turnaround in the track record of CEO Thomas Schinecker, close to three years in office, after he oversaw recent drug trial wins that have sharply boosted the stock.
Operating profit, adjusted for special items, came in at
21.8 billion Swiss francs ($28.48 billion) in 2025, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Thursday, just shy of a market consensus of 22 billion francs cited by analysts.
The group also said it expects 2026 group sales to grow in the mid-single-digit percentage range, while targeting core earnings per share growth in the high-single-digit range.
Revenues in Ocrevus rose 9% to 7.0 billion francs, and in Hemlibra by 11% to 2.7 billion francs, both slightly more than expected, while gains in eye drug Vabsymo and breast cancer therapy Phesgo came in somewhat below market consensus.
Roche shares fell 1.9% to a three-week low shortly after the 0800 GMT open.
US DOLLAR WEAKNESS
The U.S. dollar lost about 12% against the Swiss franc last year and it is down by more than 3% so far in 2026.
Group revenues of 61.5 billion francs, up 2%, were broadly in line with the market view.
The stock has gained about 25% since mid-November as two major study readouts provided a much-needed boost to the company's development credentials.
In November, an experimental multiple sclerosis drug succeeded in a pivotal trial, followed within weeks by Sanofi running into delays in the regulatory review of its rival treatment.
Last month, a Roche drug candidate was shown to cut the recurrence risk in a common form of breast cancer.
Schinecker has invested heavily in obesity drugs, challenging dominant players Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
Its leading candidate cut body weight by as much as 22.5% in a mid-stage trial, Roche said on Tuesday, but market concerns about its rivals' long head start have prevailed.
($1 = 0.7655 Swiss francs)
Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Friederike Heine, Shri Navaratnam, Alexandra Hudson
Source: Reuters