Savings, Cimzia sales push UCB first-half core profit above forecasts

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB on Thursday reported a better-than-expected core profit in the first half of 2016, as it reduced operating expenses and its inflammatory disease drug Cimzia performed well. Core profit rose 18 percent in the first half to 549 million euros ($607.5 million), above the 518 million euros expected in a Reuters poll. Sales for Cimzia, to treat bowel disorder Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, rose 23 percent, above analysts forecasts. Epilepsy drug Keppra, which faces generic competition, also sold better than expected. UCB said it still expected revenues for 2016 as a whole to be in a range of 4.0 to 4.1 billion euros and core profit adjusted for one-off items to be between 970 million and 1.01 billion euros. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)