Healthy sales

Novartis reported a 50 per cent rise in profit for the fourth quarter, with earnings of $2.31bn up from $1.54bn in the same quarter in 2008.

Sales from the company's consumer health unit that sells over-the-counter medicine and contact lenses rose 20 per cent to $1.6bn. In its financial report, Novartis said that all businesses achieved faster underlying growth than their respective markets despite the difficult economic conditions. 'CIBA Vision was the industry's fastest-growing contact lens and lens care company on the strength of new product introductions,' it reported.