Novartis
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Worldwide OTC sales rise 4% in first six months as Lamisil antifungal cream, Triaminic pediatric cold remedies and Habitrol smoking cessation patch perform well, firm announces during Aug. 16 analysts call. Consumer healthcare sales for first half reached $1.82 bil., while operating income was flat at $214 mil., resulting in an operating margin of 11.7%, down from 12.2%. Novartis attributes decline to one-time costs associated with transferring Ovaltine production from UK to Switzerland. Consolidated sales increased 11% to $8.59 bil., with overall net income of $2.07 bil