Baxalta buy drives huge leap in Shire’s Q4 sales

Shire has booked sales of $3.62 billion for the fourth quarter, marking a leap of 123 percent driven by its acquisition of Baxalta last year.

Taking Baxalta products out of the equation revenues were up 13 percent at $1.84 billion, with strong growth from Shire's Genetic Diseases and Internal Medicine franchises, each up 17 percent.

The drugmaker reported operating income of $729 million for the period, a jump of 104 percent on the year-ago period, primarily because of Baxalta's operating income, higher revenue from legacy Shire products and lower R&D programme impairment charges, partially offset by higher amortisation of acquired intangible assets and certain promotional costs, the firm noted.

For the full year, product sales were up 78 percent at $10.9 billion, including $3.9 billion of revenues from Baxalta products, while operating income from continuing operations dropped 32 percent to $963 million, largely because of the impact of acquisition accounting, combined with higher integration and acquisition costs, partially offset by lower impairment charges related to R&D programmes.

"2016 was a transformational year for Shire as we became the world leader in rare diseases," said Flemming Ornskov, the firm's chief executive. 

"Our innovative portfolio and sharp focus on commercial excellence enabled us to generate double digit pro forma top-line growth, with reported sales of $10.9 billion, while materially advancing the pipeline, successfully integrating Dyax and progressing the Baxalta integration ahead of schedule".

"With multiple product launches planned in 2017, we remain focused on execution and expect to generate strong top- and bottom-line growth. Our pipeline has never been stronger with multiple programs in Phase III or registration. We remain extremely optimistic about Shire's long-term growth prospects," he added.

For the full year, the company is expecting produce sales of $14.5 - $14.8 billion, and diluted earnings per share of $6.95 t0 $7.55.