Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG (NVS.US) reported a 6% increase in operating profit for the third quarter, as strong sales of new drugs helped counterbalance stagnant revenue from its flagship heart drug Entresto.

The company's adjusted operating profit for Q3 rose to $5.46 billion, slightly surpassing analysts' consensus estimate of $5.4 billion. Revenue climbed 8.4% year-over-year to $13.91 billion, exceeding expectations, while non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $2.25, $0.06 below projections.

To bolster its research pipeline and offset declining sales from patent expirations, Novartis has aggressively pursued acquisitions and licensing deals worth up to $30 billion this year, including a $12 billion purchase of U.S. biotech firm Avidity.

Despite twice raising its annual performance forecasts, Novartis maintained its 2025 financial guidance, projecting "mid-to-high single-digit" sales growth and "low double-digit" adjusted operating profit growth.

Entresto, which lost patent protection this year, generated $1.88 billion in Q3 sales. The decade-old drug became Novartis' top-selling product with $7.82 billion in global sales for 2024. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected $1.77 billion for the quarter.

A U.S. federal court in July rejected Novartis' attempt to block MSN Pharmaceuticals from selling generic versions of Entresto. While analysts forecast the drug's sales to exceed $8 billion this year, they project a decline to about $6 billion by 2026.

Psoriasis treatment Cosentyx saw flat sales of $1.7 billion year-over-year amid competition from UCB's Bimzelx in certain psoriasis and arthritis treatments. Meanwhile, breast cancer drug Kisqali, launched last year, delivered $1.33 billion in sales.