CEO Kåre Schultz said the pandemic has had minimal impact on Teva’s supply chain.
David Williams/Bloomberg
The long-troubled generic-drug giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries turned in better financial results than expected, sending shares up 2.9% in premarket trading.
The stock has been on a tear in recent weeks. Teva’s (ticker: TEVA) American depository receipts are up 32.7% so far this year, though the stock has risen only 3.9% over the past 12 months.
Teva reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 68 cents a share, while analysts tracked by FactSet expected 64 cents. The company reported sales of $4.5 billion, roughly in line with the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.4 billion.
Teva also laid out forecasts for 2021 that were in line with Wall Street estimates, saying it expects revenues of between $16.4 billion and $16.8 billion. Analysts expected sales of $16.9 billion, according to FactSet.
The company forecast adjusted earnings—not prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles—of between $2.50 and $2.70 per share. Analysts expect $2.66 per share, according to FactSet.
On a positive note, sales of two key drugs were up, and the company expects them to climb higher.
Sales of the migraine drug Ajovy were $36 million for the quarter, up 42% from the same quarter in 2019. Sales of Austedo, prescribed to patients suffering from Huntington’s disease, were $185 million, up 36% year over year.
Teva said it expected $300 million in sales of Ajovy in 2021, above the $244 million FactSet data indicates analysts expected. Management said it anticipates $950 million in sales of Austedo, above the $796 million Wall Street had been looking for.
“In 2020, Teva continued to provide essential medicines to millions of patients around the world every day, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, we saw minimal impact on our supply chain, R&D programs and product launches,” the company’s CEO, Kåre Schultz, said in a statement.
Teva has struggled with substantial debt, and with uncertainty created by lingering litigation over its sales of opioid drugs. In his statement, Schultz said: “Looking ahead, we will continue to optimize our manufacturing network, portfolio and pipeline, improve our profitability and generate cash, as we remain on track to repay our debt and achieve our long-term financial targets.”
The company said that fourth-quarter revenues were flat compared with the same quarter last year. In North America and Europe, it said, a decline in medical activity other than the fight against the pandemic had hurt sales, though that was offset in part in North America by increased demand for certain products related to the treatment of Covid-19.
Teva’s ADR trades at 4.9 times earnings expected over the next 12 months, below its 5-year average of 5 times. FactSet tracks 23 analysts covering the stock. Four rate it at Overweight or Buy, 17 rate it Hold, and two rate it Underweight or Sell.
Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]
