Sanofi-Aventis Q1 profit up 8.6pc

Sanofi-Aventis reported Thursday an 8.6 percent increase in first quarter net profit thanks to its swine flu vaccine and strong sales of diabetes treatment Lantus.
France's largest drug maker said net profit in the three-month period rose to 1.71 billion euros ($2.26 billion) from 1.58 billion euros a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.9 percent to 7.39 billion euros.Sanofi-Aventis' biggest selling product Lantus showed a 5.8 percent increase in sales to 790 million euros, offsetting the impact of generic competition on its Eloxatin cancer treatment and Plavix blood thinner.
Eloxatin sales fell 80.8 percent to 66 million euros and Plavix sales dropped 21.9 percent to 535 million euros.
The H1N1 vaccine added 413 million euros to quarterly revenue.
Chief Executive Christopher Viehbacher, who took the reins at Sanofi-Aventis early last year, called the results a "good start to the year."