News Summary: US flu season helped Roche in 1Q
News Summary: Severe US flu season helped Roche's 1st-quarter sales
THE NEWS: Roche Holding AG said strong sales of new cancer drugs and a severe U.S. flu season helped lift first-quarter revenue 6 percent.
THE NUMBERS: The Swiss drugmaker reported sales of 11.56 billion Swiss francs ($12.4 billion) during the first three months of the year, up from 11.03 billion francs in the same period last year.
THE OUTLOOK: Roche expects to meet its full-year targets for 2013, including group sales in line with last year's 4 percent growth. Unlike many of its major competitors, the company benefits from having strong sellers whose patents are not expiring soon.
