Genzyme Misses Product-Sales Estimates

Genzyme(GENZ Quote) beat analysts' earnings estimates in the latest quarter, but it missed Wall Street's sales targets for its key products, and shares eased Wednesday.

The company reported a third-quarter profit of $119.6 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $159.3 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The recent quarter included a $100 million licensing fee for the rights to a late-stage genetic disease drug developed by PTC Therapeutics.

On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned $1.04 a share, up from 90 cents last year, on revenue that rose 20% to $1.16 billion.

Analysts, on average, had expected $1 a share, with revenue of $1.18 billion. The overall sales shortfall, though slight, came as Genzyme was just shy of consensus expectations for its biggest sellers.

The company reported $171 million in sales from Renegel and Renvela, missing the $174 million that had been anticipated. Genzyme reported $309 million in revenue from Cerezyme, below expectations for $320 million, and it garnered sales of $126 million from Fabrazyme vs. a target of $129 million.

Genzyme said that it recorded $77 million from Myozyme in the recent quarter, while analysts were expecting $80 million. On Tuesday a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted largely in Genzyme's favor, recommending approval of a larger-scale version of the Pompe disease drug.

The FDA will meet on Nov. 29 to decide whether to approve the Myozyme that will be manufactured on a larger scale in a new facility.