Roche's Long-Time CEO Passes Baton, Higher Diagnostics, Medicine Sales Lift 1H Sales & Profit

Roche Holdings AG's RHHBY 1H FY22 sales reached CHF 32.3 billion, +5% Y/Y on higher sales of diagnostic tests and pharmaceuticals.
Core operating profit increased 9% to CHF 12.7 billion, and EPS up 11% to CHF 11.76.
Ocrevus revenue increased 17% to reach CHF 2.9 billion, and Hemlibra sales jumped 30% to CHF 1.83 billion, offsetting a decline in established off-patent cancer medicines Herceptin, Avastin, and Rituxan due to cheaper rival products.
Arthritis med Actemra/RoActemra sales declined 10% to CHF 1.5 billion, driven by fewer hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
The diagnostics division reported sales growth of 11% to CHF 9.9 billion on the usage of its COVID-19 tests and cardiac tests.
The COVID-19 tests generated sales of CHF 3.1 billion, which is expected to decrease in Q3.
Guidance: For FY22, the company expects sales to be stable or grow in the low-single digits. Core earnings are expected to grow in the low- to mid-single-digit range.
It also reaffirmed that COVID-19 medicines and diagnostics sales would decrease by about CHF 2 billion in FY22 to CHF 5 billion.
Management Change: Roche CEO Severin Schwan will be moving to the board chairman role, making way for Thomas Schinecker, the current CEO of the diagnostics division. Schwan has served as CEO since 2008.
The changeover will occur at the annual general meeting in March next year as Christoh Franz, chairman since 2014, decided not to seek re-election to the board.
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