Half-year profits exceeded forecasts Roche due to good sales of drugs

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swiss pharmaceutical producer Roche reported on the adjusted net income for the first six months of this year, which surpassed analysts' expectations due to strong sales of drugs Perjeta and Rituxan, as well as one-off income derived from the activities of the pension fund company.
Basic earnings per share, subject to adjustment of certain balance sheet items, increased by 7 percent to 7.74 Swiss francs ($ 7.86). Analysts on average had forecast a figure on the level of 7.52 francs.
Sales of the three well-established group of drugs for the treatment of cancer - Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan, continued to grow.
 Annual sales of each of the bottom up over 6 billion francs a year. Nevertheless Roche is necessary to advance in the market its new drug because of the expected decline in sales of obsolete products in the next few years.
Sales of Rituxan, which was approved in Europe in 1998, rose in the second quarter by 5 percent in local currencies to 1.88 billion Swiss francs, exceeding analysts' expectations at 1.83 billion.
Sales of the new drug Perjeta, for the treatment of breast cancer jumped by 35 percent to 467 million against the average analyst forecast of 449 million.
 In the last quarter, the company also recorded a one-off gain of $ 426 million, resulting from the activities of its pension fund.
(Ludwig Burger)

European stocks open mixed ahead of ECB policy decision; DAX up 0.22%

Investing.com - European stocks opened mixed on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy decision due later in the day.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.16%, France’s CAC 40inched up 0.05%, while Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.22%.

Market participants were focusing on the outcome of the ECB meeting, scheduled later Thursday, to see if policymakers will step up easing measures to offset the fallout from the Brexit vote.

Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) added 0.12% and 0.15%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) fell 0.22% and 0.29%.

Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) rallied 1.09% and 1.42% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) slipped 0.02% and 0.18%.

Elsewhere, Deutsche Lufthansa AG (BE:LHABy) plunged 7.93% after the German airline company cut its full-year profit target on Wednesday saying advance bookings to Europe had dropped due to "terrorist attacks in Europe and to greater political and economic uncertainty".

Swiss drugmaker Roche GS (SIX:ROG) added to losses, with shares declining 0.51% even after confirming its outlook for 2016 and reporting better than expected sales for the first half of the year.

On the upside, Swatch Group I (SIX:UHRN) jumped 1.73% after the Swiss watchmaker said net profit dove 52% in the first half but it expects a recovery in the second half of 2016.

In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.40%, led by easyJet (LON:EZJ), whose shares plummeted 6.12%, after the airliner said it could not predict the outcome for the end of the year amid growing security concerns, and weaker consumer confidence.

The company added that its fourth quarter performance would be affected by two events last week: the terrorist attack in Nice, France, and the failed coup attempt in Turkey.

Rival company and British Airways owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LON:ICAG), added to losses with shares retreating 3.19%.

Meanwhile, financial stocks were mostly higher. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) eased up 0.09% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) added 0.10%, while Barclays(LON:BARC) gained 0.83%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) underperformed however, with shares sliding 0.61%.

In the mining sector, stocks were broadly higher. Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) advanced 0.92% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rallied 1.21%, while Glencore (LON:GLEN) and Antofagasta(LON:ANTO) jumped 1.93% and 2.11% respectively.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. TheDow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures a 0.02% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.09% gain.