Geneva  - Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche reported Thursday a better-than-expected third-quarter sales increase of 9.7 per cent and raised its full year outlook.

Roche said in a statement that full-year 2009 sales in both its pharmaceuticals and diagnostics divisions were expected "to grow well ahead of the market."

Third quarter sales reached 12.4 billion Swiss francs (12.24 billion dollars). Group sales were up 3.1 billion to 36.4 billion francs in first nine months to September 30, an increase of 9 per cent when measured in francs. Roche does not release quarterly earnings.

The company's line of cancer drugs, including Avastin, saw increased sales.

Meanwhile, the company, based in Basle, Switzerland, was benefiting from the stockpiling of anti-viral drugs owing to the outbreak of the H1N1 pandemic.

Roche raised its full-year sales forecast for Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, from 2 billion to around 2.7 billion francs in 2009 and from 400 million to about 700 million francs in 2010. (dpa)