Apotex Health swung to a quarterly loss as revenue slipped, but Canadian launches of generic Ozempic and Wegovy helped to offset an expiring cancer-drug license.

The results mark the Toronto-based pharmaceutical and health company's first financial report since its initial public offering in June, one of Canada's largest pharmaceutical debuts.

Apotex is tapping into early Canadian patent lapses for Novo Nordisk's semaglutide to capture early generic GLP-1 market share, capitalizing on surging global demand for weight-loss and diabetes treatments while building a pipeline for future U.S. launches.

Shares recently fell 4.75% to C$35.29.

The Canadian pharmaceutical and health company on Wednesday said revenue fell to C$848 million from C$1.14 billion from a year earlier, but came in ahead of analyst expectations of C$840.8 million.

A year earlier, Apotex generated C$308 million in revenue from generic Revlimid, a lucrative cancer drug licensed under a limited, expiring volume deal.

Excluding the U.S. contribution of generic Revlimid, revenue increased 2%, with a strong performance in Canada where revenue grew 11%, said Chief Executive Jeff Watson. He noted that the company also benefited from first-to-market launches of generic GLP-1s in Canada, including Apo-semaglutide, a generic Ozempic approved in May, as well as Sevmia, a generic Wegovy approved in June.

Net loss came to C$38.3 million, or C$0.19 a share, compared with a profit of C$362.7 million, or C$1.88 a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

For the full year, Apotex expects revenue to grow in the upper mid-single digits, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin of 30%.