Novo Nordisk increased operating profit by 21% in 2009

In 2010, operating profit is expected to increase by around 10%

• Sales increased by 12% in Danish kroner and by 11% in local currencies.

o        Sales of modern insulins increased by 24% (23% in local currencies).

o        Sales of NovoSeven^® increased by 11% (10% in local currencies).

o        Sales of Norditropin^® increased by 14% (10% in local currencies).

o        Sales in North America increased by 21% (15% in local currencies).

o        Sales in International Operations increased by 17% (19% in local currencies).

• Gross margin improved by 1.8 percentage points to 79.6% in 2009, primarily reflecting continued productivity improvements, price increases in the US and a positive currency impact of around 0.4 percentage points.

• Reported operating profit increased by 21% to $2.786 billion. Adjusted for the impact from currencies underlying operating profit increased by more than 15%.

• Net profit increased by 12% to $2.009 billion. Earnings per share (diluted) increased by 15% to $3.32.

• At the Annual General Meeting on March 24, 2010, the Board of Directors will propose a 25% increase in dividend to DKK 7.50 per share (corresponding to $1.40) of DKK 1. The Board of Directors has furthermore decided to initiate a new share repurchase program of $1.4 billion during 2010.

• In January 2010, Novo Nordisk received marketing authorization for Victoza^®, the once-daily human GLP-1 analog for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, from both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

• For 2010, sales growth measured in local currencies is expected to be in the range of 6-10% whereas operating profit measured in local currencies is expected to increase by around 10%.

Lars Rebien Sørensen, president and CEO, said: "We are satisfied with the solid business performance in 2009, which is primarily driven by the robust sales growth for our portfolio of modern insulins. The launch of Victoza^® in Europe is very encouraging and we look forward to continuing the global roll-out of Victoza^® following the recent approvals in the US and Japan.”

* For convenience, Danish kroner has been translated to USD in this release, using the average exchange rate of $1.00 = DKK 5.36087