For the first time in four quarters, the pharmaceutical giant reports an operating profit below analysts' expectations. The report comes a week after the weight loss giant adjusted down its revenue growth while a new CEO was presented.
Right now, it's more about answering how to address future challenges than numbers, says Hansen.
"Several problems"
During a press conference, Novo Nordisk's CFO Karsten Munk Knudsen states that copies on the American market are still a comprehensive problem that the company views very seriously.
According to Hansen, Novo Nordisk still lacks answers on how the company will address copies that it claims around one million patients on the American market use.
The biggest problem is that they don't just have one problem, but several problems. Another challenge is how they will handle the competitor Eli Lilly and increase sales in the USA, says Hansen and adds that it's not realistic to expect answers until Novo Nordisk's new CEO takes office on Thursday.
It's the last report with the outgoing director and he has no interest in getting wiser on concrete actions.
The stock plummeted
The company makes an operating profit of 33.45 billion Danish kronor, compared to expected 34.45 billion Danish kronor.
Sales revenue for the second quarter amounted to 76.86 billion Danish kronor, which is an increase of 13 percent compared to last year, but just below analysts' expectations according to Bloomberg. The margin landed at 83.3 percent.
Last week, the pharmaceutical giant trimmed its full-year forecast to a revenue growth of 8-14 percent instead of the previous forecast of 13-21 percent. The stock plummeted after the lowered profit forecast.
