AbbVie Rises on Strong Second-Quarter Results, Raised Guidance
TheStreet
Shares of drugmaker AbbVie (ABBV) - Get Report gained on Friday after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its guidance for the remainder of the year as sales of its top-selling arthritis drug Humira chugged along at a better pace than anticipated, particularly in the U.S.
The Chicago-based company posted second-quarter earnings of $741 million, or 49 cents a share, vs. $1.98 billion, or $1.26 a share, in the comparable year-earlier period. Stripping out a $2.28 billion charge for future payments associated with its plaque psoriasis drug Skyrizi, the company earned $2.26 a share, above the $2.21 a share expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
AbbVie in April won U.S. approval to distribute Skyrizi alongside German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim. The drug has so far brought in sales of $48 million for AbbVie.
In the latest quarter, competition outside the U.S. caused overall Humira sales to slip about 6% to $4.87 billion, though they still still beat the $4.80 billion forecast by analysts. U.S. sales for Humira rose 7.7% to $3.79 billion, though revenue outside the country slumped 35.2% to $1.08 billion.
Total net sales dipped slightly to $8.26 billion from $8.28 billion, though still came in well above analysts' average estimate of $8.1 billion.
AbbVie last month unveiled plans for a $63 billion acquisition of Allergan AGN, a deal that will give it a new revenue stream in the wrinkle-smoothing drug Botox to cover an expected decline in revenue from its arthritis drug Humira, which is poised to lose its patent protection.
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Separately, AbbVie said it was raising it 2019 adjusted per-share earnings forecast to between $8.82 and $8.92 from a prior range of $8.73 to $8.83.
Shares of AbbVie were up 1.89% at $67.92 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. They ended the day Thursday down 1.19% at $66.66.
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