"Quarter to quarter things go up and down. But this group is in robust health." Those were the closing remarks from Shire (SHP) chief executive Flemming Ornskov following publication of the group's interim results. The latest numbers disappointed the London market as group product revenues in the second quarter were held back by significantly lower sales of the group's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment, Intuniv. The drug patent expired last year and has faced increased competition from generic copies since December 2014. The group also spent more than expected on new product launches.
Excluding Intuniv, underlying product sales rose 7 per cent in the second quarter to $1.47bn (£950m), driven by the relaunch of Vyvanse (which is already sold as an ADHD drug) for adults with binge-eating disorder. Two products acquired as part of Shire's recent takeover of New-Jersey-based NPS Pharmaceuticals - short bowel syndrome drug Gattex and hypocalcemia treatment Natpara - also did well. The former reported a 70 per cent improvement in pro-forma revenues to $37m during the second quarter.
Despite the quarterly miss, Shire has upped its earnings guidance for the current year, and expects EPS growth to be in the mid to high single-digit per cent range. Analysts at Deutsche Bank still expect pre-tax profits of $2.69bn, giving EPS of 382ȼ, up from $2.55bn and 353ȼ in 2014.
| SHIRE (SHP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 5,375p | MARKET VALUE: | £31.8bn | |
| TOUCH: | 5,370-5,380p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 5,755p | LOW: 3,475p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.3% | PE RATIO: | 16 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1,540ȼ | NET DEBT: | 25% | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover ($bn) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2.85 | 653 | 129 | 3.8 |
| 2015 | 3.05 | 591 | 97 | 4.2 |
| % change | +7 | -9 | -25 | +10 |
Ex-div: 3 Sep Payment: 2 Oct *Includes intangible assets of $13.5bn, or 2,278ȼ a share £1 = $1.55 | ||||
