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YYAY ' AYYAYYAYAYYAYYAYA YYAYAYYAYYAYAYYAYYAYAYYAYYA ' YAYYAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAYYAYYYYAYYAYYYY Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art . 53 LR V NOVARTIS FINANCIAL RESULTS | RÉSULTATS FINANCIERS | FINANZERGEBNISSE YYAYAYYAYYAYAY YAYYYYYYYYYY Novartis International AG Novartis Global Communications CH - 4002 Basel Switzerland https://www.novartis.com Novartis delivered strong Q2 performance , driven by momentum of key growth brands . FY 2021 guidance unchanged . • Net sales in Q2 grew + 9 % ( cc¹ , + 14 % USD ) : 。 Pharmaceuticals BU grew + 12 % ( cc , + 18 % USD ) with continued strong growth from Entresto ( + 46 % cc ) , Cosentyx ( + 21 % cc ) and Zolgensma ( + 48 % cc ) . Kesimpta sales reached USD 66 million 。 Oncology BU grew + 7 % ( cc , + 11 % USD ) driven by Promacta / Revolade ( + 18 % cc ) , Jakavi ( + 19 % cc ) , Kisqali ( + 36 % cc ) and Tafinlar + Mekinist ( + 10 % cc ) 。 Sandoz grew + 5 % ( cc , + 11 % USD ) as the business is starting to stabilize 。 Excluding prior year forward purchasing de - stocking , we estimate Q2 net sales grew + 5 % ( cc , + 10 % USD ) , Innovative Medicines grew + 7 % ( cc , + 11 % USD ) and Sandoz declined -1 % ( cc , + 6 % USD ) ² • Q2 core¹ operating income grew + 13 % ( cc , + 18 % USD ) mainly driven by higher sales and favorable gross margin , partly offset by higher spend . Excluding prior year COVID - 19 related forward purchasing de - stocking , we estimate core operating income increased + 4 % ( cc , + 10 % USD ) • Q2 operating income grew + 41 % ( cc , + 48 % USD ) , mainly from higher sales as well as divestment gains • Q2 net income increased + 49 % ( cc , + 55 % USD ) benefiting from lower financial expenses • Q2 free cash flow¹ of USD 4.2 billion ( + 17 % USD ) , mainly driven by higher operating income , partly offset by unfavorable changes in working capital • H1 sales grew + 3 % ( cc , + 7 % USD ) and core operating income grew + 2 % ( cc , + 6 % USD ) : 。 Innovative Medicines sales grew + 5 % ( cc , + 9 % USD ) and core operating income + 6 % ( cc , + 10 % USD ) 。 Sandoz sales declined -5 % ( cc , 0 % USD ) and core operating income declined -19 % ( cc , -16 % USD ) • Key innovation milestones : 。 Iptacopan Ph2 studies met endpoints in PNH , IgAN and C3G ( IA ) ; Ph3 studies enrolling 。 177 Lu - PSMA - 617 reduced mortality in patients with mCRPC ; received Breakthrough Therapy designation 。 Zolgensma demonstrated transformational efficacy in presymptomatic children with SMA 。 Inclisiran resubmission of NDA filed with FDA to address manufacturing related CRL ○ Asciminib submitted to FDA for treatment of adult patients with Ph + CML • 2021 Group guidance³ unchanged Basel , July 21 , 2021 - commenting on the quarter , Vas Narasimhan , CEO of Novartis , said : " Novartis delivered a strong second quarter , driven by the momentum of our key growth brands , including Cosentyx , Entresto , Zolgensma , our Oncology portfolio and the launch of Kesimpta which continues to accelerate . Our pipeline of novel medicines continues to progress with key positive readouts in diseases with high unmet need , including iptacopan in a range of immune mediated diseases , 177 Lu - PSMA - 617 in prostate cancer and Zolgensma in spinal muscular atrophy . We reached a notable milestone in our journey to build trust with society , tackling global health access challenges , by reaching a billion antimalarial courses delivered to patients most in need . Looking ahead , we reconfirm our full - year guidance and our commitment to drive long - term accretive growth " . Key figures¹ Q2 2021 Q2 2020 % change H1 2021 H1 2020 % change USD m USD m USD CC USD m USD m USD CC Net sales 12 956 11 347 14 9 25 367 23 630 7 3 Operating income 3 479 2 352 48 41 5 894 5 096 16 12 Net income 2 895 1 867 55 49 4 954 4 040 23 19 EPS ( USD ) 1.29 0.82 57 52 2.20 1.77 24 21 Free cash flow 4 235 3 631 17 5 832 5 652 3 Core operating income 4 345 3 669 18 13 8 302 7 846 6 2 Core net income 3 716 3 108 20 14 7 129 6 657 7 3 Core EPS ( USD ) 1.66 1.36 22 16 3.17 2.92 9 5 1 Constant currencies ( cc ) , core results and free cash flow are non - IFRS measures . An explanation of non - IFRS measures can be found on page 48 of the Condensed Interim Financial Report . Unless otherwise noted , all growth rates in this Release refer to same period in prior year . 2 Growth excluding prior year COVID - 19 related forward purchasing de - stocking is a non - IFRS measure , an explanation for this measure can be found on page 61 of the Condensed Interim Financial Report . 3 Please see detailed guidance assumptions on page 7 including the forecast assumption that we see a continuation of the return to normal global healthcare systems including prescription dynamics , particularly oncology , in H2 2021. In addition , we assume that no Gilenya and no Sandostatin LAR generics enter in 2021 in the US .