Driven by GLP-1 drugs such as Smegglutide, Novo Nordisk has seen strong performance growth.
On January 31st, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk released its 2023 annual report, with a revenue of 232.261 billion Danish kroner, a year-on-year increase of 31% and a growth of 36% at a constant exchange rate; Operating profit increased by 37% to DKK 102.574 billion, representing a 44% increase at a constant exchange rate.
Novo Nordisk 2023 performance data
In its 2023 third quarter report, Novo Nordisk reiterated its full year performance expectations for 2023: sales growth of 32% to 38%, and operating profit growth of 40% to 46%. From the performance released this time, it basically meets the above expectations. The reason for the significant increase in Novo Nordisk's performance is precisely due to the rapid growth of its multiple GLP-1 drugs.
GLP-1 drug Smegglutide is Novo Nordisk's flagship product, and its weight loss indication Wegovy is sometimes referred to as the "miracle weight loss drug". Last year, its sales reached 31.343 billion Danish kroner, an increase of over 406% from 6.188 billion Danish kroner in 2022. The sales of another GLP-1 drug, Liraglutide Saxenda, which is also used for weight loss, were 10.289 billion Danish kroner, a slight decrease from 2022.
Sales of Novo Nordisk's products in 2023
In addition, the sales of Smeglutide Ozempic, a diabetes indication, reached DKK 95.718 billion, an increase of more than 60% compared with DKK 59.75 billion in 2022. The overall sales revenue of GLP-1 drug is 123.332 billion Danish kroner, an increase of nearly 48% from 83.371 billion Danish kroner in 2022.
Smeaglutide has not been approved for weight loss in China, but only for diabetes treatment. According to the financial report, the sales of Smegglutide in China in 2023 were 4.821 billion Danish kroner, an increase of over 119% from 2.196 billion Danish kroner in 2022. The overall sales of GLP-1 drug in China were 6.208 billion Danish kroner, a year-on-year increase of approximately 66%. It is worth mentioning that Smeaglutide oral tablet has recently been approved for the treatment of diabetes in China. The latest financial report shows that the sales of this drug will be 18.75 billion DKK in 2023, an increase of about 66% year on year.
Novo Nordisk has also provided expectations for its performance in 2024: based on fixed exchange rates, sales growth is expected to be 18% to 26%. The expected growth in operating profit is 21% to 29%. Calculated in Danish kroner, sales and operating profit growth are expected to be 1 percentage point and 2 percentage points lower, respectively.
Lars Frurgaard Jrgensen, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said that he was very satisfied with the strong performance in 2023, which reflected that more than 40 million people benefited from innovative diabetes and obesity treatment. In 2024, we will cover more patients, promote the expansion of our product line, and continue to significantly expand our production capacity.
Due to increased market demand, there was a shortage of supply for Smegglutide in some countries. In another statement released on the official website, Novo Nordisk executives also mentioned the issue of GLP-1 drug production capacity: in 2023 alone, Novo Nordisk announced an investment of over 75 billion Danish kroner to expand its production base globally. The construction of these projects is currently underway, with efforts to operate existing facilities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
According to foreign media reports, on the morning of January 31st European time, Novo Nordisk's market value reached $506 billion, still leading second place LVMH and making it the highest valued European company.
As of the close of the US stock market on January 30th, Novo Nordisk was trading at $109.02 per share, with a market value of $485.88 billion. As of the end of trading on January 31st, Novo Nordisk's US stock market rose as high as 1.4%.