Yahoo Finance Bristol-Myers Beats on Q4 Earnings, Provides 2016 Guidance
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s BMY fourth-quarter 2015 earnings (excluding special items) of 38 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents but were down 17% year over year.
Total revenue of $4.3 billion was ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.1 billion. Revenues were also up 1% year over year. Strong product sales boosted the top line in the reported quarter.
Full-year adjusted earnings grew 9% to $2.01 per share while revenues were $16.6 billion, up 4%.
Quarter in Detail
The company performed well in the U.S., although international revenues were down 7%. Foreign exchange translations impacted revenues negatively. Excluding the impact of currency translations, international revenues were up 3%. Sales in the U.S. markets increased 9% to $2.3 billion.
Leukemia drug, Sprycel, registered sales of $429 million, up 8%. Skin cancer drug, Yervoy, contributed $265 million to the total revenue during the reported quarter, down 28%.
Opdivo, approved for multiple oncology indications (including melanoma and lung cancer), generated revenues of $475 million, significantly higher than $305 million in the third quarter of 2015.
The performance of key drugs in the virology unit was disappointing. Sales of Baraclude declined 9% to $309 million. Sales of the drug are expected to decline further due to generic competition. Sales of HIV treatments, Reyataz and Sustiva, also dropped 14% and 9% to $272 million and $309 million, respectively.
Sales of Eliquis were $602 million during the reported quarter, up approximately 29.2% sequentially. Bristol-Myers has a partnership with Pfizer PFE for Eliquis. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) franchise at Bristol-Myers contributed $458 million to the company’s top line in the quarter, up 13.9% sequentially. Orencia revenues were up 22% to 540 million.
Adjusted marketing, selling and administrative expenses in the reported quarter were $1.5 billion, up 9.8% from the year-ago figure. Adjusted research and development expenses for the quarter increased 3.2% to $1.2 billion.
2016 Outlook
The company provided its 2016 earnings guidance. Bristol-Myers expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.30 to $2.40. The pre-earnings Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.31 is around the lower end of the guided range.
The company expects revenues to increase in the mid single-digit range. Marketing, sales and administrative expenses are expected to decrease in the mid single-digit range, while research and development expenses are expected to increase in the high single-digit range.
Our Take
We are impressed by strong sales of drugs like Orencia, Eliquis and Sprycel in the fourth quarter of 2015. Opdivo revenues are also picking up. The company’s 2016 earnings guidance looks encouraging. We are positive on Bristol-Myers’ efforts to develop its pipeline.
We expect investor focus to remain on updates regarding the company’s high-profile immuno-oncology drug Opdivo, going forward.
Bristol-Myers carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Celgene Corp. CELG and Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD. Both sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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