Bristol Myers posts better-than-expected 4th-quarter results (updated)

Karuna Therapeutics

02/02/2024 12:20

(Adds shares in paragraph 2)
    By Michael Erman
       Feb 2 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb  BMY.N 
on Friday posted better-than-expected results for the fourth
quarter as sales of its new anemia drug Reblozyl and its already
off patent blood cancer drug Revlimid outperformed Wall Street
forecasts.
    Shares of the New Jersey-based company rose 3.5% to $50.36
in premarket trading. 
    The company, which announced a string of deals to restock
its pipeline late last year, said its revenue was $11.48 billion
in the fourth quarter. Analysts, on average, had expected
revenue of $11.19 billion, according to LSEG data.
    It said it earned $3.5 billion, or $1.70 a share, in the
quarter, excluding certain one-time items, also ahead of analyst
expectations of $1.53 a share.
    Sales of Revlimid were $1.45 billion and Reblozyl were $320
million in the quarter, compared with analyst estimates of $1.27
billion and $280 million, respectively.
    The company said it expects 2024 revenue to increase by
single digit percentages from 2023, when total revenue was $45
billion. It expects its 2024 reported earnings in the range of
$7.10 to $7.40 a share. Analysts, on average had forecast 2024
earnings of $7 a share.
    Bristol Myers' Chief Executive Chris Boerner ascended to
that position in November right after the company pared back
expectations for its existing new product portfolio.
    He quickly inked a $14.1 billion deal to buy antipsychotic
medicine maker Karuna Therapeutics  KRTX.O  as well as a $4.1
billion buyout of cancer drugmaker RayzeBio  RYZB.O . Those
deals followed a $5.8 billion deal in early October for another
cancer company, Mirati, which closed last month.
    "We did take a number of actions in the fourth quarter that
will strengthen the company for long term sustainable growth,
and we're certainly working to accelerate the opportunities that
we have in our hands today," Chief Commercialization Officer
Adam Lenkowsky said in an interview.
    Bristol Myers expects to see lower sales later this decade
for two of its top selling drugs, cancer immunotherapy Opdivo
and blood thinner Eliquis, as they lose patent protection. Sales
of Opdivo were $2.39 billion in the quarter, while Eliquis sales
were $2.87 billion.
    It has already been under pressure from generic competition
for Revlimid, once its top-selling drug. 

 (Reporting by Michael Erman in New York and Bhanvi Satija in
Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
 ((michael.erman@thomsonreuters.com))