Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) shares moved higher as the Danish drugmaker posted better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter driven by demand for its obesity drugs.
The company posted a net profit of 28.23 billion Danish kroner (about US$4 billion), ahead of analysts’ expectations of 26.09 billion Danish kroner.
Revenue was 85.68 billion Danish kroner (about US$12 billion), up 30% year-over-year and ahead of estimates of 80.62 billion kroner.
Sales of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy surged 107% year-over-year to reach 19.87 billion kroner (about US$2.8 billion). Ozempic sales were up 12% at 33.85 billion kroner.
Novo Nordisk forecast a slight slowdown in sales for 2025. It expects sales growth between 16% and 24%, below the previous year’s growth of 26%.
"We are pleased with the performance in 2024, where 26% sales growth reflects that more than 45 million people are now benefiting from our treatments,” Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said in a statement.
“In 2025, we will continue our focus on commercial execution, on the progression of our early and late-stage R&D pipeline and on the expansion of our production capacity."
Novo Nordisk’s US-listed shares traded up 4.9% at $86.65 late morning on Wednesday.