Shares in Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) fell over 5% after it slightly lowered the profit outlook for this year and missed forecasts for its weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic.
Operating profit for Europe's largest company by market valuation increased 18% in the second quarter of 2024 to 57.8 billion Danish krone (DKK), slower than the 27% growth seen in the first quarter.
Operating profit was impacted by a DKK 5.7 billion impairment loss related to ocedurenone, after phase 3 trial was stopped in June for the potential hypertension treatment.
Group net sales grew 24% in the quarter to DKK 133.4 billion, with North America sales up 36% and for all international operations 9%.
Sales of Wegovy, the first weightloss drug to come to market but now facing competition from the likes of Eli Lilly's Zepbound, rose 53% to DKK 11.66 billion, 14% below consensus forecasts.
The 2024 sales outlook was hiked to 22-28% at constant exchange rates, up from 19-27%, but the outlook for operating profit growth was trimmed to 20-28% at CER, compared to the 22-30% profit outlook given at the first quarter results.
Growth reported in Danish kroner is now expected to be 1 percentage point lower than at CER growth for both sales and operating profit.
Shares fell to 830 DKK in Copenhagen in early trading, down more than 17% from their all-time high in June.