PARIS: French pharmaceutical group Sanofi posted strong 2021 sales on Friday and expects another good performance in 2022, as the popularity of its asthma therapy offset setbacks in developing a Covid vaccine.

While Sanofi has yet to produce a jab against Covid, its Dupixent drug, which also treats eczema, has been a huge success, with the drug recording double-digit sales growth.

The company posted overall sales of 37.8 billion euros ($43.3 billion) in 2021, a 4.8 percent increase, according to its annual earnings statement.

Sanofi’s earnings per share (EPS) — a measure of a company’s profitability — rose by a better-than-expected 12 percent.

The company said it expects “low double-digit” growth of its EPS in 2022. EPS is a firm’s net profit divided by outstanding shares.