Revenue during the quarter went down marginally by 1.55 percent to $12,606 million from $12,804 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 8 basis points over the previous year period to 64.39 percent. Total expenses were 88.46 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 86.90 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 156 basis points in operating margin to 11.54 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $1,455 million, compared with $1,677 million in the previous year period.

Commenting on the results, Joseph Jimenez, Chief executive officer of Novartis, said: “Novartis delivered a solid performance in 2016, absorbing Gleevec US loss of exclusivity while investing in key launches and the Alcon Division turnaround. Cosentyx reached blockbuster status in 2016, and the conditions are now in place for Entresto sales to accelerate in 2017. We made major strides in advancing our pipeline, executing our bolt-on M&A strategy and implementing our new focused organization. Today we are proposing an increase in our dividend and initiating a share buyback of up to USD 5 billion. Additionally, we are reviewing options for the Alcon Division to maximize shareholder value.”

The company has spent $3,441 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $10,784 million in the last year. It has incurred net capital expenditure of $2,020 million on net basis during the year, down 28.52 percent or $806 million from year ago.

The company has spent $5,314 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $9,176 million in the last year period.