Company announcement

Novo Nordisk's sales increased by 31% in Danish kroner and by 36% at constant exchange rates to USD 33.7 billion in 2023

Financial report for the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023

• Operating profit increased by 37% in Danish kroner and by 44% at constant exchange rates (CER) to USD 14.9 billion. 
• Sales in North America Operations increased by 50% in Danish kroner (54% at CER). Sales in International Operations increased by 11% in Danish kroner (16% at CER).
• Sales within Diabetes and Obesity care increased by 38% in Danish kroner to USD 31.2 billion (42% at CER), mainly driven by GLP-1 diabetes sales growth of 48% in Danish kroner (52% at CER) and Obesity care growing by 147% in Danish Kroner to USD 6.0 billion (154% at CER). Rare disease sales decreased by 16% measured in Danish kroner (15% at CER) reflecting a reduction in manufacturing output.
• In January 2024, Novo Nordisk successfully completed the first phase 3a trial with IcoSema, a fixed-ratio once-weekly combination of basal insulin icodec and semaglutide and a phase 1 trial with oral amycretin within Obesity care.
• For the 2024 outlook, sales growth is expected to be 18-26% at CER, and operating profit growth is expected to be 21-29% at CER. Sales and operating profit growth reported in Danish kroner is expected to be 1 and 2 percentage points lower than at CER, respectively.
• At the Annual General Meeting on 21 March 2024, the Board of Directors will propose a final dividend of USD 0.93 for 2023 per share. The expected total dividend for 2023 is USD 1.36 per share, of which USD 0.44 was paid as interim dividend in August 2023. The Board of Directors has decided to initiate a new share repurchase programme of up to USD 3 billion.

 

PROFIT AND LOSS	2023	2022	Growth as reported	Growth at CER*
USD million
Net sales	33,711	25,011	31%	36%
Operating profit	14,888	10,573	37%	44%
Net profit	12,146	7,848	51%	N/A
Diluted earnings per share (in USD)	2.70	1.73	52%	N/A
* CER: Constant exchange rates (average 2022). ** For convenience Danish kroner has been translated to USD in the release, using the average exchange rate of USD 1.0 = DKK 6.88970 and the period-end exchange rate of USD 1.0 = DKK 6.74471.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, president and CEO: "We are very pleased with the strong performance in 2023 reflecting that more than 40 million people are now benefiting from our innovative diabetes and obesity treatments. We continue to make progress on our strategic aspirations. Our focus in 2024 will be on reaching more patients, progressing and expanding our pipeline as well as the continued significant expansion of our production capacity."

On 31 January 2024 at 13.00 CET, corresponding to 07.00 am EST, an earnings call will be held. Investors will be able to listen in via a link on novonordisk.com, which can be found under ‘Investors’

About Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 63,400 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. Novo Nordisk's B shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Novo-B). Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NVO). For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Financial calendar
7 March 2024	Capital Markets Day 2024 in Copenhagen
21 March 2024	Annual General Meeting
2 May 2024	Financial results for the first three months of 2024
7 August 2024	Financial results for the first half of 2024
6 November 2024	Financial results for the first nine months of 2024

 

Novo Nordisk’s Annual Report 2023 is available at https://www.novonordisk.com/investors/annual-report.html