UPDATE 1-Amneal Pharma cuts core profit forecast on allergy shot supply issues
(Adds background, details on cost saving plan, share move)
July 10 (Reuters) - Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc on Wednesday cut its 2019 core earnings forecast, citing the uncertain supply of epinephrine auto-injectors amid a global shortage of the emergency allergy shots, including Mylan NV's EpiPen.
Amneal now expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the range $425 million to $475 million, compared with its previous forecast of $600 million to $650 million.
Shares of the company dropped 9% to $6.20 before the opening bell.
The supply disruption has plagued Amneal for over a year, and the company saw its 2018 combined generics net revenue fall 2.6%, hurt mainly by lower sales of its epinephrine auto-injector.
The drugmaker also unveiled a restructuring plan expected to reduce its total annual cost base by about $50 million, with the majority of the restructuring milestones to be achieved during 2020.
The company did not clarify whether there would be any job cuts as a part of the cost-saving plan, but said that affected employees will be covered under a transition plan.
In addition to supply issues of the allergy shots during the seasonally strong third quarter, the company also cited delays in regulatory approvals and launches as other reasons for the lowered forecast.
Amneal said it would revise its 2019 forecast when it reports its second-quarter results on Aug. 8. (Reporting by Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
