Alcon reports first quarter 2025 financial results and updated full-year guidance
Alcon has announced its financial results for the three months ending March 31, 2025. For the first quarter of 2025, sales were $2.5 billion, flat on a reported basis and up 3 percent on a constant currency basis, as compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the company stated. Vision care net sales, which include contact lenses and ocular health, were reported at $1.1 billion for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 1 percent on a reported basis and 3 percent on a constant currency basis compared with the first quarter of 2024. The company also announced the recent launch of several ophthalmic products.
“Despite a soft U.S. market, I am excited about the strong initial customer reception to our recent product launches, including Unity VCS, PanOptix Pro, Voyager, Precision7 and Systane Pro PF,” said David J. Endicott, Alcon’s chief executive officer. “As we look to the future, we expect the U.S. market to normalize and are excited about how these groundbreaking innovations will accelerate growth in the second half of 2025, and create value for years to come. There’s been an obvious disruption in the global trade environment,” Endicott added on an analyst conference call.
“Yet at Alcon I remain encouraged by the strength and resilience of our underlying business performance. So while the current tariff structure introduces new headwinds, our global network of 17 manufacturing sites and decades of operational experience position us well to implement mitigating strategies.”
In its Vision Care segment, contact lenses net sales for the first quarter of 2025 were $688 million, an increase of 3 percent, the company stated. Sales growth was partially offset by declines in legacy products. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 1 percent, contact lenses net sales increased 4 percent constant currency during the first quarter of 2025. Also within the Vision Care segment, ocular health net sales were $432 million, a decrease of 1 percent, the company stated. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 3 percent, ocular health net sales increased 2 percent constant currency.
For the first quarter of 2025, surgical net sales, which include implantables, consumables and equipment/other, decreased 1 percent to $1.3 billion versus the first quarter of 2024. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 3 percent, surgical net sales increased 2 percent on a constant currency basis. Within the surgical segment, implantables net sales were $420 million, a decrease of 3 percent. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 3 percent, implantables net sales were in line with the first quarter of 2024 in constant currency. Consumables net sales were $712 million, an increase of 4 percent, driven by vitreoretinal and cataract consumables, particularly in international markets, and price increases, the company stated. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 2 percent, consumables net sales increased 6 percent constant currency. Equipment/other net sales were $199 million in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 9 percent year-over-year.
First-quarter 2025 operating income was reported as $468 million, compared with $368 million in the prior-year period. Net cash flows from operating activities amounted to $384 million in the first three months of 2025, compared to $341 million in the prior-year period, reflecting a lower impact from changes in net working capital in the current year period, the company stated.
Alcon raised its 2025 sales forecast to a range of $10.4 billion to $10.5 billion, up from its earlier projection of between $10.2 billion and $10.4 billion.
