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The eye care company Alcon has come to a standstill in the first quarter. New products should boost growth.(archive image)
Keystone
The eye care company Alcon has made a slow start to the year. Sales grew only slightly and profitability came under pressure. This was due to costs associated with product launches. Alcon is cautious in its outlook due to the US customs policy.
From January to March, the US-Swiss group achieved sales of 2.45 billion US dollars. This corresponds to an increase of just 0.3 percent, as reported on Tuesday after the close of the US stock exchange. In local currency terms, the increase was 3 percent.
Growth has thus weakened compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. At that time, Alcon had grown by a good 6 percent. Analysts had previously expected an average increase in sales of 3 percent for the first quarter, not adjusted for currency effects.
The core margin as a measure of profitability fell to 20.8 percent after 22.0 percent in the first quarter a year ago, impacted by the rise in costs. In contrast, the operating margin (unadjusted) rose by 4.0 percentage points to 19.1% thanks to a positive value adjustment on investments. Analysts had predicted figures of 21.2% and 14.6% respectively.
At the bottom line, core earnings per share amounted to 73 cents after 78 cents in the previous year. In view of the weak market environment in the USA, the start to 2025 was very good, said CEO David Endicott in the press release. Newly launched products have also been well received by customers.
Nevertheless, Alcon is exercising caution in its outlook, partly because additional costs of around 80 million dollars are expected due to the US customs policy. While the company is targeting slightly higher sales of USD 10.4 to 10.5 billion in 2025 (previously USD 10.2-10.4 billion), the expectation for the core operating profit margin has been lowered to 20 to 21 percent (previously 21-22%).
13.05.2025, 23:05
