AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) slipped to a loss in the fourth quarter from a profit last year, due to the inclusion of the recent partial impairment charge related to intangible assets acquired as part of the 2016 acquisition of Stemcentrx. The results missed analysts’ expectations. Following this, the stock inched down over 3% in the premarket session.
Net loss was $1.83 billion or $1.23 per share compared to a profit of $52 million or $0.03 per share in the previous year quarter. Adjusted earnings soared 28.4% to $1.90 per share.
Net revenue grew 7.3% year-over-year to $8.31 billion. Worldwide adjusted net revenue increased 8.3% on an operational basis, excluding 1% unfavorable impact from foreign exchange.
Looking ahead into the full year 2019, the company expects GAAP earnings in the range of $7.39 to $7.49 per share. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to be in the range of $8.65 to $8.75 per share, representing growth of 10% at the mid-point.
Humira sales rose 0.5% on a reported basis, or 1.4% operationally, excluding 0.9% unfavorable impact from foreign exchange. In the US, Humira sales grew 9.1%. Internationally, Humira sales fell 14.8% operationally due to direct biosimilar competition in certain international markets.
For the fourth quarter, cancer drug Imbruvica revenues jumped 42% to $1.01 billion while revenue from the Hematologic Oncology Portfolio climbed 50.2% to $1.13 billion. Global HCV (hepatitis C virus) revenues soared 69.3% to $862 million.
Research and development expenses were 78.2% of net revenues. The adjusted R&D expenses were 16.5%, reflecting funding actions supporting all stages of its pipeline.
During the quarter, AbbVie received FDA accelerated approval of Venclexta for the treatment of a type of blood cancer in adults who are age 75 years or older. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials, which are expected to be completed in 2019.
The company announced its board of directors authorized a $5 billion increase to the company’s existing stock repurchase program.
Shares of AbbVie ended Thursday’s regular session down 2.91% at $85.88 on the NYSE. The stock has fallen over 20% in the past year while it has risen over 8% in the past three months.