Novo Nordisk earnings Q3 2018

John Mcconnico | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A lab technician at Novo Nordisk conducts in vitro research in Malov, Denmark.

Denmark’s Novo Nordisk reported weaker-than-expected earnings on Thursday, citing currency headwinds.

The world’s top maker of diabetes drugs posted net profit of 9.037 billion Danish krone ($1.374 billion) for the three-month period ending Sept. 30. Analysts at data firm Refinitiv had been expecting third-quarter net profit to come in at around 9.565 billion Danish krone.

The company also saw its operating profit decrease 6 percent in Danish krone and increase 2 percent in local currencies to 36.5 billion Danish krone on the back of “significant depreciation of the U.S. dollar and related currencies versus the Danish krone in the first half of 2018 compared with same period in 2017.”

In the third quarter of 2017, Novo Nordisk reported net profit of 9.77 billion Danish krone.

Shares of Novo Nordisk have fallen nearly 15 percent year-to-date.