On Thursday, Swiss stocks experienced a notable recovery, with the Swiss Market Index finishing the day up by 0.21%. This upward movement was greatly supported by the recent financial results reported by key players in the Swiss market. Prominent companies such as Galderma, a leading dermatology group, Galenica, a reputed pharmaceutical company, and Bucher Industries, a significant entity in the machinery sector, reported impressive financial outcomes. Galderma garnered attention with a 1.29% increase in its share price, buoyed by a remarkable year-over-year rise in net sales for the first nine months of 2024, reaching an unprecedented level of $3.26 billion.
Despite this success, the company made a cautious adjustment to its net sales growth forecast for the rest of the year. RBC Capital Markets highlighted this progression: "As emphasized in the interim results, Galderma continues to witness robust growth in international markets with a 14.5% growth rate at constant exchange rates (CER) year to date.
However, it is counterbalanced by a relatively subdued growth rate of 2.5% in the U.S. market for the same period. The company has adjusted its full-year guidance, now forecasting net sales growth in the range of 8.8% to 9.5% CER, a shift from their previous expectations that leaned towards the higher end of a 7-10% range.
Consideration of a full-year foreign exchange headwind of approximately 1%—in line with year-to-date exposure—implies a projected net sales figure between $4.4 billion and $4.43 billion, contrasting with the current consensus estimate of $4.45 billion for the fiscal year." In another noteworthy development, Lonza Group also saw a positive market response, with shares climbing 2.78% after the company reiterated its full-year 2024 forecast.
Lonza indicated that it expects sales to remain flat year-over-year at constant exchange rates. Additionally, the company projected a strong volume of contract signings across its contract development and manufacturing organization businesses. RBC commented on Lonza's performance, stating: "The reaffirmation of Lonza's 2024 guidance during its Q3 update was in line with expectations.
While facing challenges in its Bioscience and CHI divisions, the company has exhibited commendable performance across other segments. Our position remains at Sector Perform as we await further insights regarding 2025 guidance." Looking beyond the Swiss market, the broader euro area showed signs of slight improvement as indicated by the HCOB Flash Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index, which edged up to a two-month high of 49.7 in October from 49.6 in September.
Manufacturing PMI also saw an improvement, rising to 45.9 from the previous 45 reading. These results paint a mixed but cautiously optimistic picture of economic activity in the region, suggesting potential opportunities ahead..