Gilead Hepatitis C Drugs Beat Sales Views
February 02 2016 - 5:11PM
Dow Jones News
By Tess Stynes
Gilead Sciences Inc. said its two hepatitis drugs, Sovaldi and
Harvoni, generated combined sales of $4.89 billion world-wide
during the fourth quarter, topping analysts' expectations for
global sales of $4.45 billion.
The Foster City, Calif., biopharmaceutical company also said its
board authorized the repurchase of an additional $12 billion of its
shares and raised the quarterly dividend by 10%.
The latest share-buyback program will begin after the completion
of Gilead's current $15 billion stock repurchase plan, which had
about $8 billion remaining as of Dec. 31. The company intends to
tap $5 billion of the current buyback program in the next three
months. The quarterly dividend will rise to 47 cents a share, an
increase of four cents a share.
Shares rose 1.5% to $83.94 in recent after-hours trading as
per-share earnings, excluding certain one-time items, and revenue
beat expectations.
For 2016, Gilead projected net product sales of between $30
million and $31 million, lower than the net product sales of $32.15
billion the company reported for 2015.
Gilead, which had been known for its HIV/AIDS treatments,
recently has seen its sales driven by its hepatitis C drugs.
Sovaldi and Harvoni are part of the latest generation of hepatitis
C treatments that studies indicate cure most patients in just a few
months. The two drugs, which have faced criticism over their
pricing, also are facing increased competition.
The Food and Drug Administration, as expected, last month
granted approval for Merck's new hepatitis C treatment, Zepatier.
Last week, AbbVie said it expects $2 billion in sales of its
hepatitis C drug Viekira this year, up from $1.64 billion in
2015.
Sovaldi, which initially received FDA approval in December 2013,
generated sales of $1.55 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, a
decline of 11% from a year earlier but an increase from $1.47
billion in the third quarter.
Harvoni, which combines Sovaldi with another drug and was
approved in October 2014, generated fourth-quarter sales of $3.35
billion, up 59% from a year earlier and from $3.33 billion in
three-month period ended Sept 30.
Analysts were expecting global sales of $1.32 billion for
Sovaldi and $3.13 billion for Harvoni, according to a note by
Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum.
The latest tally brings the sales total for both drugs to $19.14
billion for 2015.
Over all, Gilead reported a profit of $4.68 billion, or $3.18 a
share, up from $3.49 billion, or $2.18 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, per-share
earnings rose to $3.32 from $2.43. Revenue increased 16% to $8.51
billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
$3 and revenue of $8.14 billion.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 02, 2016 16:56 ET (21:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024