By Paolo Laudani
(Reuters) -Alcon forecast sales of between $10.2 and $10.4 billion for 2025, in line with market expectations, after the eye care group reported higher fourth-quarter revenue underpinned by its surgical division.
Alcon, which produces contact lenses, eye drops and other related products, said its sales rose 6% in constant currency to $2.4 billion in the final quarter of 2024, matching analysts’ estimates in an LSEG consensus. The results were published late on Tuesday.
The 2025 sales outlook broadly matched market expectations of $10.4 billion, LSEG’s IBES data showed.
Alcon’s shares were up about 6% in Switzerland by 1502 GMT. Alcon, which makes more than 40% of its sales in the United States, is also listed in New York.
BTIG analysts said in a note to clients that the results were encouraging.
“Guidance is being weighed down by foreign exchange. Despite the FX fluctuations, we view ALC’s FY25 6%-8% xFx top-line guidance as healthy,” they wrote.
CEO David Endicott told analysts that the tariff dynamic was hard to read but if one country increases them, his company will be able to fill the gap somewhere else due to its global profile.
“We’re fortunate that we manufacture inside of the region we deliver to, mostly (…) but we’ll have to play that one out and see what happens.
“We probably will wait and see how long this thing lasts,” Endicott added.
The Swiss-American company’s diluted earnings per share fell 34% on a reported and constant currency basis, mainly due to tax expenses in the fourth quarter, it said.
It said it would propose a dividend of 0.28 Swiss francs ($0.31) per share for 2024 and buy back up to $750 million worth of its common shares over the next three years.
($1 = 0.8948 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi and Jane Merriman)
