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 (EPA:SASY) 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 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)