Novartis International AG. is currently one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies (in terms of total revenue).
The company focuses on producing and providing: pharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostics, contact lenses, animal health products, personal health products.
Novartis is comprised of five main business segments, in addition to its global research organization, the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR).
The five business segments are: Pharmaceuticals, Alcon (eye care), Vaccines and Diagnostics, Sandoz (generics), and Consumer Health (divided into Over-the-Counter and Animal Health).
Its flagship pharmaceuticals include: carbamazepine (Tegretol), clozapine (Clozaril), imatinib mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec), diclofenac (Voltaren), and valsartan (Diovan).
Novartis is based in Basel, Switzerland. Its head office in Basel is currently undergoing a transformation “from an industrial complex to a place of innovation, knowledge, and encounter”.
The company’s global research operations center (NIBR) is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Novartis was formed in 1996 following a merger between two Swiss companies: Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz Laboratories.
The history of Ciba-Geigy goes back to 1859, when Alexander Clavel opened production facilities to create synthetic dyes.
Clavel sold his dye factory to the company Bindschedler and Busch and in 1884 the company transformed into “Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie Basel” (Company for Chemical Industry Basel). The acronym “CIBA” was adopted as the company name in 1945.
In 1971 CIBA and Geigy merged to create Ciba‑Geigy Ltd.
Sandoz Pharmaceuticals (Sandoz AG) was a Swiss pharmaceutical company well known for developing the antipsychotic medications Clorazil, Mellaril, and Serentil.
When Sandoz merged with Ciba-Geigy to form Novartis, the company kept the pharmaceutical and agrochemical divisions of both.
Novartis International AG – Company Overview
CEO: Joseph Jimenez- Chairman: Joerg Reinhardt
- Type: Public
- Industry: Pharmaceuticals
- Listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- SIX stock ticker symbol: NOVN
- NYSE stock ticker symbol: NVS
- Revenue: $58.831 billion USD (2013)
- Net income: $9.292 billion USD (2013)
- Diluted earnings per share: $3.70 USD (2013)
- Employees: 119,418 (2012)
- Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
- Corporate contact number: +41 61 324 11 11
- Investor relations contact number: +41 61 324 7944
- Investor relations email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.novartis.com/
- Company subsidiaries: Ciba Vision, Sandoz, Alcon, and the Chiron Corporation
Novartis International AG – Financial Results
| Income data (in $ millions) | 2013 | 2012 |
| Net sales | $57,920 | $56,673 |
| Other revenues | $911 | $888 |
| Total revenue | $58,831 | $57,561 |
| Cost of goods sold | $(19,608) | $(18,756) |
| Gross profit | $39,223 | $38,805 |
| Marketing & Sales | $(14,549) | $(14,353) |
| Research & Development | $(9,852) | $(9,332) |
| General & Administration | $(3,060) | $(2,937) |
| Other income | $1,367 | $1,049 |
| Other expense | $(2,219) | $(2,039) |
| Operating income | $10,910 | $11,193 |
| Income from associated companies | $600 | $552 |
| Interest expense | $(683) | $(724) |
| Other financial income and expense | $(92) | $(96) |
| Income before taxes | $10,735 | $10,925 |
| Taxes | $(1,443) | $(1,542) |
| Net income | $9,292 | $9,383 |
| Net income attributable to shareholders of Novartis AG | $9,175 | $9,270 |
| Balance sheet data (in $ millions) | ||
| Total assets | $126,254 | $124,191 |
| Total liabilities | $(51,782) | $(54,928) |
| Total equity | $74,472 | $69,263 |
| Cash flow data (in $ millions) | ||
| Cash flows from operating activities | $13,174 | $14,194 |
| Cash flows used in investing activities | $(3,352) | $(5,675) |
| Cash flows used in financing activities | $(8,769) | $(6,675) |
| Net change in cash and cash equivalents | $1,135 | $1,843 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at December 31 | $6,687 | $5,552 |
| Common share data (in $) | ||
| Earnings per Common Share – Basic | $3.76 | $3.83 |
| Earnings per Common Share – Diluted | $3.70 | $3.79 |
Source: “Novartis International AG – US Securities & Exchange Commission Form 20-F 2013”
Reports about Novartis from Market Business News:
April 23rd, 2014: Novartis and GSK announce a multi-billion dollar deal in which their consumer healthcare divisions merge, Novartis buys GSK’s cancer drugs division and GSK buys Novartis’ vaccines (exc. flu) unit.
April 26, 2014: Novartis reported an earnings increase of 24% for Q1 2014.