Roche profit rises 25 per cent
Basel-based pharmaceuticals group Roche has reported a profit of SFr11.4 billion ($10.44 billion) for 2007, beating analysts' expectations.
Profit was up 25 per cent on the preceding year. Turnover also grew ten per cent to SFr46.1 billion – the seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth.
The better turnover came despite a 19 per cent drop in sales of bird flu drug Tamiflu, as most pandemic stockpiling orders were completed in the second half.
Analysts say the company's world-leading portfolio of cancer drugs, including Avastin and Herceptin, helped it escape many of the problems that beset competitors last year.
The Roche result surpasses that of Basel rival Novartis which recorded sales last year of SFr43.8 billion.
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