Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) Wednesday reported an 8% drop in full-year net profit and slightly lower sales, sending shares down as much as 8% in early trade as analysts also worried about the company's outlook.

Roche, based in Basel, said net profit attributable to shareholders fell to 8.97 billion Swiss francs ($7.83 billion) in the year ended Dec. 31, from CHF9.76 billion in 2007 and below analysts' average forecast of CHF9.81 billion. Roche, which doesn't publish quarterly earnings figures, said sales declined 1% to CHF45.62 billion from CHF46.13 billion.

The strength of the Swiss franc, a sharp drop in revenue from flu drug Tamiflu, and a lower financial result all weighed on net profit.

"We could feel the impact from the financial crisis," the company's Chief Financial Officer Erich Hunziker said in a conference call. "The question is not how much we get from our investments, but whether we do get the money back from the people we gave it to," Hunziker said. "We don't see the situation improving in 2009," he added.

At 0815 GMT, Roche shares were down 6.9%, or CHF11.20, at CHF151.50.

"Net profit is around 5% below consensus, operating profits around 4% at both divisions," says Karl-Heiz Koch, analyst at Swiss broker Helvea. "Higher than expected restructuring costs may have weighed on the operating profit," said the analyst who rates the company at buy with a CHF215 price target.

For 2009, Roche expects sales at its flagship pharmaceutical division to rise at mid-single-digit pace, and group sales to expand at the same rate.

"The guidance for 2009 is disappointing," said Sarasin analyst David Kaegi, who rates Roche at buy. "It heralds further margin pressure for Roche in 2009," he added.

Sales at the flagship pharmaceutical unit in 2008 suffered from the fall in Tamiflu revenue. The drug had seen healthy sales in earlier years when governments bought in bulk to stockpile to be prepared for the possible outbreak of an influenza pandemic. The franc's appreciation against the dollar and the euro further dented sales.

Excluding Tamiflu and expressed in the currencies of where drugs are sold, pharmaceutical sales grew 10% last year.

Key drugs continued to post sales increases. Cancer drugs Rituxan/MabThera, Avastin and Herceptin all recorded sales of more than CHF5 billion in 2008, Roche said.

All three products were developed by U.S. biotech company Genentech Inc. (DNA), of which Roche owns a majority. The Swiss drugmaker plans to take full control of Genentech.

Last Friday, Roche launched a hostile bid to buy the roughly 44% of Genentech that it doesn't already own, after its earlier friendly offer was rejected.

Sales rose 3% at Roche's diagnostics division to CHF9.66 billion, but operating profit fell 22%. The company blamed amortization of intangible assets from recent acquisitions and investments in the acquired companies, as well as fierce competition in the U.S. diabetes market.

Roche plans to increase its dividend to CHF5 a share, from CHF4.60 in 2007.

Company Web site: www.roche.com

-By Anita Greil, Dow Jones Newswires; +41 43 443 8044 ; anita.greil@dowjones.com

(Julia Mengewein in Zurich contributed to this article).

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