Sanofi sticks to targets after profit drop

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi on Friday posted a sharp drop in net profit in the second quarter, but said it was confident it would still meet its full-year target of stable earnings.

Net profit dropped 11.1 percent to 1.16 billion euros ($1.29 billion) on sales of 8.14 billion euros, down 5.1 percent.

Sales fell across most divisions, except in speciality drugs thanks notably to the Genzyme unit, which specialises in the treatment of rare diseases.

"Our second-quarter financial performance was in line with expectations and reflected anticipated headwinds," Sanofi chairman Olivier Brandicourt said in a statement.

Brandicourt said he stood by the group's target of "broadly stable" earnings for the full year, but only when stripping out exchange rate factors.

Exchange rates moved against Sanofi in the first half, especially in its Venezuelan operations, the group said.