By Ludwig Burger
(Reuters) -Sanofi's fourth-quarter operating income fell 5% as a weaker U.S. dollar and cheap competition to multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio outweighed rising sales of anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent.
The French drugmaker said on Thursday operating income, adjusted for one-offs, slipped 5.2% to 2.58 billion euros ($2.79 billion), falling short of the 2.77 billion euros expected on average by analysts in a poll on the company's website.
Revenues from Aubagio, no longer patent-protected, plunged 74% to 141 million euros in the quarter, below market estimates.
Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) shares were down 2% at 0925 GMT, erasing this week's gains, with analysts blaming the earnings miss.
The company reiterated it expects 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to slip by a "low single-digit" percentage, citing higher taxes and an increase in development expenditure. EPS should see a strong rebound next year, it reaffirmed.
CEO Paul Hudson (NYSE:HUD) has been trying to build investor confidence in Sanofi's drug pipeline since he unexpectedly abandoned 2025 margin targets last October to instead boost drug development spending, causing a 15% plunge in the share price.
Quarterly sales of eczema and asthma drug Dupixent jumped a currency-adjusted 31% to 3 billion euros, in line with market expectations, accounting for 27% of group sales.
The company added that Francois-Xavier Roger, finance chief at Nestle, would take over as Sanofi's chief financial officer on April 1, succeeding Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon who will head a charitable foundation.
Analysts have said the recent market debuts of drugs including Beyfortus to prevent a common respiratory infection in infants, are important tests of the company's medium-term earnings prospects.
The antibody treatment, in which AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Sobi also hold some rights, generated 410 million euros in fourth quarter revenue after a launch earlier in 2023.
Hudson said soaring global demand for the preventive shot would likely be fully met next year as a production ramp-up continues.
($1 = 0.9261 euros)