The Basel, Switzerland-based drug maker Novartis AG Tuesday posted a 54 percent increase in its fourth-quarter net profit to $2.32 billion, largely due to robust sales and favorable exchange rates; and has appointed its pharmaceuticals division chief Joe Jimenez as its new CEO.

In its quarterly earnings report, the company said that its earnings per share rose 53 percent to $1.01, as against the same quarter year before figures of $0.66 on a $1.51 billion net profit.

The September-December quarter also witnessed a 28 percent increase in the sales of the Novartis’ products – including its hypertension drug Diovan and its anticancer drug Glivec, which is called Gleevec in the US – which touched $12.93 billion, as against the earlier year’s $10.08 billion.

Saying that Novartis gained notably from the shipment of large orders of swine flu vaccine during the quarter, the outgoing CEO Daniel Vasella, who will remain the company’s Chairman, told reporters in a conference call: “The fourth quarter has been especially strong.”

Meanwhile, announcing that Jimenez will replace Vasella as the CEO with effect from February 1, Novartis said in a statement that the company’s board had selected Jimenez for the post on account of his “outstanding performance track record, broad international business experience and ability to provide direction, align and engage people.”