The quarterly loss was $422 million, versus $390 million in the 2019 period, Alcon said. Sales fell to $1.2 billion from $1.9 billion, though the company said revenue had picked up from month to month since the initial collapse due to the new coronavirus.

"We are encouraged by the sequential monthly improvement in sales, which confirmed our recovery expectations. Despite the significant level of uncertainty due to COVID-19, we continue to stay on track with our major initiatives," Chief Executive David Endicott said in a statement.

(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)