Novo Nordisk warns on profit due to forex hit

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVO-B.KO) on Thursday posted fourth-quarter earnings that missed forecasts and said that it expects its reported figures this year will be lower than previously anticipated due to exchange rates against the Danish krone.

The company said that its chairman is stepping down, with current board member and former Statoil chief executive Helge Lund proposed as a replacement.

Net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 slipped to 8.25 billion Danish kroner ($1.38 billion) from DKK8.7 billion in the same period last year, shy of analysts' expectations for DKK8.56 billion according to a FactSet poll. Sales fell to DKK27.99 billion from DKK29.57 billion, just missing the DKK28.41 billion expected.

Sales in the quarter found support from its new diabetes and obesity treatments, but growth in North America was weighed by price and rebate adjustments, as well as the launch of a generic version of a feminine medication.

Measured in local currencies, 2018 sales growth is seen at 2% to 5% from an earlier estimate of mid-single digits. Reported sales growth is now expected to be around seven percentage points below that range, having earlier been anticipated at three percentage points lower.

Operating profit growth in local currencies is now seen at 1% to 5% from a previous estimate of mid-single digits, with reported growth seen around 10 percentage points lower, from a drop of four percentage points expected earlier.

The company proposed a total dividend for 2017 of DKK7.85 compared with DKK7.60 last year. It intends to initiate a new 12-month share-repurchase program of up to DKK14 billion.

Growth this year is expected to be underpinned by a robust performance in its modern insulin and obesity drugs, but the company said that intensifying global competition both within diabetes care and biopharmaceuticals, as well as continued pricing pressure within U.S. diabetes care, would keep a lid on growth.

"In 2018, we will focus on the global launch of Ozempic and pursue the full value potential of our strong product portfolio in what continues to be a competitive environment," Chief Executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com; @domchopping, @WSJNordics

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