Year-over-Year Rise in Celgene Earnings
Celgene Corporation’s (CELG) second quarter 2013 earnings (excluding special items but including stock-based compensation expense) of $1.36 per share beat the year-ago earnings by 24%. Higher revenues drove earnings in the reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was $1.30 per share.
Quarter in Details
Total revenue climbed 15% to $1.60 billion in the second quarter of 2013. Revenues were boosted by the impressive performance of cancer drugs Revlimid, Abraxane and Vidaza. Net product sales climbed 17% to $1.56 billion. Revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54 billion.
Net sales of Revlimid, the key growth driver at Celgene, came in at $1.05 billion, reflecting an increase of 13% over the year-ago period. The drug did well both in the U.S. (up 16%) and international markets (up 8%). Market share gains and increased duration of therapy drove sales in the second quarter of 2013.
Net sales of another cancer drug, Abraxane, climbed 41% to $155 million. The drug did well both in the U.S. (up 38%) and international markets (up 55%). Sales in the U.S. were boosted by the label expansion of the drug into the non-small cell lung cancer indication in the final quarter of 2012. Strong sales of the drug in the breast cancer indication boosted international revenues in the second quarter of 2013.
Net sales of Vidaza climbed 5% to $211 million, driven by increased demand for the drug. Sales in international markets climbed 7% to $127 million. U.S. sales of Vidaza increased 3% to $84 million. We remind investors that Vidaza lost exclusivity in the U.S. in 2011.
U.S. sales of Pomalyst, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) in Feb 2013 in combination with low-dose dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) patients, who have received at least two prior therapies, came in at $58 million in the second quarter of 2013, up 163.6% sequentially. We are encouraged by the impressive performance of the drug in its first full quarter in the market.
The MM market has been in the spotlight for quite some time. In Jul 2012, the FDA cleared Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s (ONXX) Kyprolis.
Net sales of another cancer drug, Thalomid, continued to decline due to the availability of better alternatives. Thalomid sales were $66 million, down 13%.
Research and development (R&D) expenses (excluding stock-based compensation and other special items) declined marginally to $345 million in the second quarter of 2013. Selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation and other special items) in the quarter increased 29.7% to $384 million. Costs associated with the launches of Abraxane in the NSCLC indication and Pomalyst primarily led to the rise in SG&A expenses.
Outlook for 2013 Raised
Apart from announcing financial results, Celgene upped its guidance for 2013. Celgene now expects adjusted earnings for 2013 in the range of $5.80–$5.90 per share (old guidance: $5.55–$5.65 per share), up 19%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 currently hints at earnings of $5.29 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is $6.2 billion.
Celgene now expects 2013 net product sales of $6.2 billion (old guidance: $6 billion), up 15%. Revlimid will continue performing well with sales projected in the range of $4.2–$4.3 billion (old guidance: $4.1- $4.2 billion), up 13% year over year.
Celgene is not the sole major biopharmaceutical player to have reported earnings on Jul 25. Biopharmaceutical companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN) too reported earnings on the same day.
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