Roche Holding AG, the world's largest seller of cancer drugs, said the Swiss franc's surge may strip 9 percentage points from growth in operating profit this year.

The currency's strength will probably pare 6 percentage points from sales growth, based on the average exchange rate for January, chief financial officer Alan Hippe said at a press conference in Basel.

The company’s earnings failed to climb for the first time in three years in 2014 due to unfavourable exchange rates and higher costs, it reported today.

Shares of Roche fell as much as 4.1 per cent. The franc’s 18 per cent surge against the euro this year is adding to setbacks including a failed study on combining two of Roche’s newer drugs to treat breast cancer, and poor results for the experimental Alzheimer’s medicine gantenerumab. – (Bloomberg)