The French laboratory will seek to save 2,000 million in costs until 2025 and will separate its non-prescription medicines division
The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi obtained a net attributable profit of 5,955 million euros in the first nine months of the year, which represents an improvement of 13.2% compared to the result recorded in the same period of 2022 by the laboratory that has reviewed its strategy to seek cost savings of around 2 billion by 2025 and the separation of its non-prescription medicines business (Consumer Healthcare) with a view to a possible IPO.
The shares of the French company fell by more than 16% on the Paris Stock Exchange, although they later reduced the fall to around 14%, after the presentation of Sanofi’s accounts and its forecasts for the end of the year and the next two exercises.
The multinational has indicated that it is reviewing “possible separation scenarios” for its Consumer Healthcare division, although it considers that the most likely formula would be through a transaction in the capital markets, by creating “a listed entity based in France “.
In this sense, he stressed that the timing of the transaction is driven by the desire to maximize value creation and reward Sanofi shareholders, adding that, depending on market conditions, he expects the separation to be executed ” at the earliest in the fourth quarter of 2024″, after consultation with the social partners.
The spin-off of the non-prescription medicines business will allow for greater management focus and resource allocation to the needs of the biopharmaceutical business, where value creation opportunities and longer-term operational levers have been identified to support accelerated R&D investments. justified the company.
Thus, the planned separation will seek to create two entities better equipped to pursue their own business strategy, resource and capital allocation and allow each to focus on long-term growth in their respective markets.
On the other hand, the laboratory has announced new steps to boost its continued effort to improve its cost structure, launching efficiency initiatives across the biopharmaceutical business that will free up operational resources to support R&D investments and unlock value creation opportunities.
This will include prioritizing its R&D investments and modernizing its commercial delivery approach. In this way, Sanofi intends to save up to 2 billion euros from 2024 and until the end of 2025, of which the majority will be reallocated to finance engines of innovation and growth.
“In this new chapter of our strategy, we are deepening our investment in R & D, taking steps to become a purely biopharmaceutical company and further optimizing our cost structure,” said Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, for whom these actions will help accelerate innovation and strengthen growth drivers, guaranteeing long-term profitability and improved value for shareholders.
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Likewise, the French company has reported that in the first nine months of 2023 it obtained an attributable net profit of 5,955 million euros, a figure 13.2% higher than that recorded in the same interval of 2022, including an increase of 21 .6% of profits in the third quarter, up to 2,525 million.
For its part, the pharmaceutical company’s net sales totaled 32,151 million until September, 0.4% less than a year before, after reducing its income by 4.1% between July and September, to 11,964 million.
Specifically, in the first nine months of 2023, the biopharmaceutical business fell by 0.5% annually, to 28,186 million, while the non-prescription medicines area increased its sales by 0.6%, to 3,965 million.
Looking ahead to the end of the year, it has indicated that it expects its earnings per corporate share for 2023 to grow in the mid-single digits at constant exchange rates, barring significant unforeseen adverse events, adding that when applying the average exchange rates of October 2023, the impact of the currency on corporate EPS is estimated between six and seven percentage points.
On the other hand, in a presentation, Sanofi has announced that by 2024 it plans to increase R&D expenses, with a tax rate of 21%, compared to the current 19%, with a low single-digit drop in earnings per share, which would remain stable at a comparable tax rate.
Likewise, by 2025 the multinational expects to fully realize the benefits of the planned efficiency initiatives, with a relatively stable expectation of R&D expenses and tax rate, as well as a strong business recovery and EPS growth.
