Daiichi Sankyo Reports Strong Q1 Growth Driven by Oncology Portfolio, Corrects Prior Year Financials
Japanese pharmaceutical company posts 21% revenue increase as ENHERTU and DATROWAY sales surge, but discloses accounting errors requiring restatement of FY2025 results.
Financial Correction Precedes Strong Quarter
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited disclosed accounting errors in its FY2025 consolidated financial results on July 31, requiring a correction to previously reported figures. The Japanese pharmaceutical company attributed the errors to "processing errors in accounts payable for suppliers" discovered during analysis of first-quarter FY2026 results (earnings call, 2026-07-31).
CFO Tomohiro Kodama stated the company "judge[s] that this would not undermine the effectiveness of internal control for financial reporting as a whole," though the company is "discussing measures to prevent the recurrence" (earnings call, 2026-07-31).
Oncology Products Drive Revenue Growth
Despite the accounting disclosure, Daiichi Sankyo reported robust first-quarter results for the period ending June 2026. Revenue increased 21.1% year-on-year to ¥574.7 billion, driven primarily by its oncology portfolio (earnings call, 2026-07-31).
ENHERTU, the company's flagship antibody-drug conjugate developed with AstraZeneca, posted global product sales of ¥219.2 billion in the quarter, up ¥64 billion year-on-year (earnings call, 2026-07-31). The drug received two new U.S. indications in May for neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. In first-line HER2-positive breast cancer treatment, "more than 1 in 3 eligible patients now receiving treatment with ENHERTU," according to the company (earnings call, 2026-07-31).
DATROWAY, another key oncology asset, generated ¥20.6 billion in global sales, up ¥15.3 billion year-on-year, with approximately 7,000 patients treated cumulatively since launch (earnings call, 2026-07-31). The drug received first-line triple-negative breast cancer approval in the U.S. and Brazil in May, and European approval was announced during the earnings call period.
Profit Pressures and Currency Impact
Core operating profit increased 6.2% to ¥107.3 billion, but reported operating profit declined 12% to ¥85.1 billion due to ¥17.2 billion in noncore expenses, including restructuring costs related to the EU Specialty business unit (earnings call, 2026-07-31). Profit attributable to owners decreased ¥16.9 billion year-on-year to ¥68.6 billion.
Currency movements significantly impacted results, with the yen depreciating ¥14.89 against the dollar and ¥21.57 against the euro year-on-year, adding ¥41.9 billion to revenue (earnings call, 2026-07-31).
Raised Revenue Guidance
Daiichi Sankyo revised its full-year FY2026 revenue forecast upward by ¥60 billion to ¥2.34 trillion, citing "yen's depreciation and stronger-than-expected product sales of ENHERTU in the United States" (earnings call, 2026-07-31). The company maintained its core operating profit forecast at ¥360 billion while raising operating profit guidance to ¥320 billion, reflecting a reversal of provisions related to cancelled investments at its Ottawara site.
The company assumed exchange rates of ¥155 per dollar and ¥180 per euro for the remainder of the fiscal year (earnings call, 2026-07-31). According to MarginX data, Daiichi Sankyo is scheduled to pay a ¥50.0 cash dividend on September 29, 2026, and report first-half FY2027 results on October 30, 2026.
This article was generated by MarginX from the earnings call on 2026-07-31. It is not investment advice.