Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited

Q3 FY2025 revenue was JPY 1,533.5 billion, up JPY 165.9 billion or 12.1% year over year. Core operating profit was JPY 249.2 billion, up JPY 20.2 billion or 8.8% year over year. Operating profit was JPY 233.8 billion, down JPY 14.5 billion or 5.9% year over year, and profit attributable to owners of the company was JPY 217.4 billion, up JPY 8.8 billion or 4.2% year over year. Cost of sales increased JPY 13.8 billion, SG&A rose JPY 93.7 billion, and R&D rose JPY 38.1 billion. ENHERTU global product sales were JPY 506.8 billion, up JPY 102.4 billion year over year; DATROWAY global product sales were JPY 31.6 billion. Management said the cost of sales ratio improved versus Q2 and that there were no additional major temporary expenses in Q3. For FY2025, consolidated earnings guidance was unchanged from the October announcement, while DATROWAY full-year sales guidance was raised to JPY 47 billion, up JPY 9.2 billion from the October forecast. Management also said total revenue guidance was unchanged from October despite some product-level movement.

The lead executive message was that the oncology portfolio continues to expand, with ENHERTU and DATROWAY driving growth and new guideline additions supporting broader adoption. Management emphasized that ENHERTU’s new indications and long-term data are reinforcing its standing, and that DATROWAY is seeing faster-than-expected uptake in breast cancer and lung cancer. The tone was confident but measured, with repeated comments that the company will keep generating data and expanding access while executing the next 5-year plan.

Ogawa highlighted the hard numbers: revenue JPY 1,533.5 billion, core operating profit JPY 249.2 billion, operating profit JPY 233.8 billion, and profit attributable to owners of the company JPY 217.4 billion. He attributed the year-over-year core profit increase to higher revenue, with revenue helped by oncology growth and contract upfront/milestone payments, while SG&A and R&D both rose materially; SG&A increased mainly because of profit sharing with AstraZeneca, and R&D increased because of development progress in 5DXd ADCs. He also noted no additional major temporary expenses in the quarter, a JPY 34.7 billion negative impact from CMO compensation fee and inventory write-downs tied to HER3-DXd and DATROWAY, and said there were no changes to the FY2025 consolidated earnings forecast from October. On capital allocation, he said the reported JPY 300 billion CapEx comment was not additional and was already within the previously disclosed JPY 800 billion plan.

Analysts focused on why DS-9606 was discontinued, why ENHERTU guidance was revised in parts of the business, and whether DATROWAY trial timing or biomarker changes reflected risk. Management said DS-9606’s in-house development was stopped for portfolio reasons, but the mPBD technology itself was validated and could still be pursued through partnerships or other programs. On ENHERTU and DATROWAY, management said U.S. and Europe adoption trends remained strong, DATROWAY sales were ahead of plan, and adding the NMR biomarker to Lung07/Lung08 was intended to improve the probability of success, not because of a known problem. On the CMO compensation issue, management said no remaining compensation amount had been identified, but negotiations were ongoing.