July 23 (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Roche confirmed its outlook on Thursday after first-half sales fell slightly in Swiss franc terms, dragged down by a strong domestic currency and slower-than-expected U.S. sales of eye drug Vabysmo.
Analysts expect the second half of the year to be important for investor sentiment as Roche continues expanding launches of breast cancer drug Itovebi and other medicines in additional markets through the rest of 2026.
• Roche shares were up 2.7% at 0925 GMT.
• Group sales for the first half were down 2% year-on-year at 30.36 billion Swiss francs ($37.34 billion), lining up with average analyst expectations of about 30.31 billion francs as cited by Visible Alpha.
• Sales rose 6% at constant exchange rates, boosted by its top-selling drugs.
• “Given where the currency exchange rates are today, there should be a zero effect in terms of currencies in the second half of the year,” said Chief Executive Thomas Schinecker.
• Roche confirmed its outlook for growth in adjusted earnings per share in a high-single-digit range and sales growth in a mid-single-digit percentage range.
• Schinecker said most future acquisition opportunities were likely to come from the United States and China.
• The Basel-based company’s top-selling drugs — multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus and haemophilia shot Hemlibra — grew 7% and 11% respectively from the same period last year.
• Sales of blockbuster eye drug Vabysmo missed analyst expectations due to a decline in the U.S. branded market.
• Healthcare pricing reforms in China led to diagnostic sales in the country falling by 24%. Growth elsewhere in the diagnostics business helped offset the impact, and the company said pressure from the reforms should lessen over the remainder of 2026.
($1 = 0.8131 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Danny Callaghan, Marleen Kaesebier and Maggie Fick; Editing by David Goodman, Tom Hogue and Tomasz Janowski)
