By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) -Gilead Sciences reported a first-quarter loss on Thursday after taking a $3.9 billion charge for its recent acquisition of liver drug developer CymaBay Therapeutics, while revenue rose 5% on higher sales of HIV, oncology and liver disease treatments.
For full-year 2024, Gilead still expects product sales of $27.1 billion to $27.5 billion, but has lowered its earnings outlook to take into account recent charges and additional costs associated with the CymaBay deal.
The company said it now expects 2024 adjusted earnings of $3.45 to $3.85 per share, up from a previous range of $6.85 to $7.25.
“This is largely expected, so there are no major surprises,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a research note.
Wall Street analysts currently forecast Gilead’s 2024 earnings at $3.94 per share on revenue of $27.5 billion, according to LSEG data.
Shares of Gilead, which fell 2.7% to $65.27 on Thursday, rose 3.3% to $67.44 in after-hours trading.
The California-based drugmaker’s first-quarter revenue was $6.69 billion, higher than the average analyst forecast of $6.34 billion.
Gilead posted an adjusted quarterly loss of $1.32 per share, which was better than analysts’ forecast loss of $1.48 per share.
On a net basis, including a $2.4 billion writedown on assets acquired from Immunomedics in 2020, Gilead reported a quarterly loss of $3.34 per share.
Sales of HIV products rose 4% from a year earlier to $4.3 billion. Quarterly sales of HIV drug Biktarvy rose 10% to $2.9 billion, in line with analyst estimates.
Gilead’s oncology revenue rose 18% to $789 million.
“We had a very strong quarter, as evidenced by both our commercial performance and our clinical execution,” Gilead CEO Daniel O’Day said in an interview.
He added that Gilead “has 54 active clinical programs and no major patent expirations until the end of 2030.”
The company expects pivotal trial results later this year from several key programs, including the cancer drug Trodelvy and a long-acting HIV prevention drug.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide on August 14 whether to approve seladelpar, an experimental treatment for a rare liver disease developed by CymaBay.
(Reporting by Deena Beasley, Editing by Bill Berkrot)
