COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Tuesday cut its full-year sales and operating profit forecasts for the second time this year, sending its shares down as much as 17%.
The maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy is struggling to convince investors it can remain competitive in the obesity drug boom against U.S. rival Eli Lilly. Novo shares have fallen sharply over the past year.
“The lowered sales outlook for 2025 is driven by lower growth expectations for the second half of 2025,” the company said in a statement.
“This is related to lower growth expectations for Wegovy in the U.S. obesity market, lower growth expectations for Ozempic in the U.S. GLP-1 diabetes market, as well as lower-than-expected penetration for Wegovy in select IO (International Operations) markets,” it said.
Novo now expects 2025 sales growth of 8%-14% in local currencies, down from its previous 13%-21% forecast range. It also lowered its operating profit growth estimate to 10%-16%, from 16-24% previously.
Sales rose 18% year-on-year in both the second quarter and the first half of the year, Novo said.
Its operating profit increased by 40% in the April-June quarter and by 29% in the first half, the company added.
Booming sales of Wegovy catapulted Novo to become Europe’s most valuable listed company in 2024, peaking at about 615 billion euros, but the value has since fallen by more than half.
CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen was ousted in May by Novo and its controlling shareholder, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, but will remain in his position until a successor is appointed.
The company is scheduled to release full second-quarter earnings on August 6.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen. Editing by Terje Solsvik, Essi Lehto and Mark Potter)
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