Gilead announces lower than expected 2017 sales guidance

Gilead Sciences on Tuesday said that it anticipates full-year revenue for 2017 to be in the range of $22.5 billion to $24.5 billion, falling short of analysts' expectations of $27.9 billion. At the mid-point, the annual guidance represents a 22-percent decline versus 2016 sales of $30 billion. 

The company said it expects 2017 hepatitis C sales to be in the range of $7.5 billion to $9 billion, down from $14.8 billion last year. Meanwhile, non-hepatitis C revenue is projected to reach $15 billion to $15.5 billion. 

For the quarter ended December 31, Gilead recorded sales of $7.3 billion, down from $8.5 billion in the year-ago period but besting projections of $7.2 billion, with net income reaching $3.1 billion, versus $4.7 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year. 

In the three-month period, Gilead reported that sales of the hepatitis C therapy Harvoni fell by more than 50 percent year-over-year to $1.6 billion, while revenue from Sovaldi reached $541 million, down from $1.5 billion in the year-ago period.  Analysts were anticipating sales of $1.6 billion for Harvoni and $587 million for Sovaldi. 

Regarding other products, Epclusa, which was authorised last year in the US and EU for the treatment of all six genotypes of hepatitis C, amassed $1.1 billion in sales in the fourth quarter, up from $640 million during the preceding quarter. Analysts had anticipated revenue of $901 million for the drug in the last quarter.