Roche sales dip, hurt by strong Swiss franc

ZURICH: Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Thursday that its first-quarter sales fell nine percent compared with a year ago, hurt by a strong Swiss franc.

Revenues for the first three months of the year reached 11.1 billion francs ($12.5 billion dollars, 8.6 billion euros), the Basel-based group said.

The negative exchange rate had an impact of 1.1 billion francs or nine percent on the results, "due to the strength of the franc relative to all currencies relevant for Roche, in particular the US dollar and the euro," the group added.

Nonetheless, the pharmaceutical giant confirmed its full-year target, with group sales expected to grow at "low single-digit rates in local currencies."