Benzinga | Feb 4, 2021 07:31AM EST

COVID-19 Test Business Fuels Roche Q4 Sales, Hikes Dividend

* Roche Holdings (OTC: RHHBF) reports a fourth-quarter lift driven by double-digit growth in the diagnostics business, propelled by its 15 COVID-19 tests portfolio. However, the main pharmaceuticals business that makes up almost 75% of overall took a back seat during the pandemic.

* Fourth-quarter sales rose 1% at constant exchange rates to CHF 14.3 billion. Pharmaceuticals sales fell 7% to CHF10.2 billion, while diagnostics revenue, including from the COVID-19 tests, rose 28% to CHF4.1 billion.

* The company has posted a slightly higher full net income of CHF15.1 billion, compared to CHF14.1 billion a year ago. Core operating profit came in at CHF21.5 billion.

* Roche's three big off-patent cancer drugs, namely, Mabthera, Herceptin, and Avastin, are under pressure due to cheaper biosimilar copies and have lost CHF5.1 billion in revenue during the full year.

* For 2021, Roche says that despite the strong impact of biosimilars, sales are expected to grow in the low- to the mid-single-digit range at constant exchange rates. Core earnings per share are targeted to increase broadly in line with sales.

* Additionally, Roche has proposed a dividend hike to CHF 9.10.

* Roche's shares gained 1.3% in Sweden Thursday.