 "Sanofi posts stronger-than-expected result in Q4, eyes more cost cuts")
PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi said on Friday it aimed to grow earnings per share this year after it posted stronger-than-expected results in the fourth quarter, and the drugmaker hiked its cost cutting target as part of a bid to boost margins.
The French company, which stunned investors last year with the delay of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, confirmed an operating income margin target of 30% for 2022 and set itself a goal to improve it to more than 32% three years later.
It stood at 27.1% in 2020.
Sanofi, which is cutting just under 1,700 jobs in Europe, raised a late 2019 goal of generating 2 billion euros ($2.39 billion) in savings by 2022 by 500 million euros.
The company is hosting a virtual investor day later on Friday that will largely focus on upcoming drugs.
Sanofi's earnings per share in the fourth quarter were up 9.8% at constant exchange rates to 1.22 euros.
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Total sales rose 4.2% to 9.4 billion euros thanks to another strong revenue increase of its eczema treatment Dupixent and what it described as a "record demand" for its influenza vaccines.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting quarterly earnings per share of 1.16 euros and sales of 9.6 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8363 euros)
(Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Sarah White)
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