Roche Holding AG (ROG), the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, raised its 2011 profit forecast as a cost-cutting plan announced last year generated savings more quickly than expected. Earnings per share excluding some items will rise about 10 percent in local currencies, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said today in a statement. Sales will rise at low single-digit rates, in line with the market. The company on Feb. 2 had forecast that earnings per share would increase by a high single-digit percentage. Roche said in November it would cut 4,800 jobs in a plan to offset the effect of drug setbacks and price pressure from changes to health-care systems in the U.S. and Europe. With savings from the acquisition of Genentech Inc., the plan saved 950 million Swiss francs ($1.16 billion) in the first half and is on track to save 1.8 billion francs this year, the company said. The cuts are expected to save about 2.4 billion francs a year starting in 2012.
