Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Thursday its first half net income rose 37 percent compared to a year ago, thanks to lower than expected costs incurred in its buyout of US biotechnology unit Genentech.

The group’s earnings during the period reached 5.6 billion Swiss francs (4.2 billion euros, 5.3 billion dollars), meeting the forecasts of analysts polled by economic news agency AWP.

Excluding the impact of Genentech, the group’s net income for the period was up 8 percent.