Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) reported an increase in earnings for the second quarter, when revenues grew by 20% helped by strong product sales. The results also came in above the estimates.
The drugmaker reported adjusted earnings of $6.02 per share for the June quarter, up from $5.45 per share recorded a year earlier. Analysts had forecast a smaller number.
Reported profit, meanwhile, decreased to $193 million or $1.68 per share from $551 million or $4.82 per share last year. Unadjusted earnings were negatively impacted by a sharp increase in R&D expenses, which nearly doubled year-over-year to about $1 billion.
In the second quarter, total revenues grew 20% annually to $1.93 billion, surpassing the estimates. US net sales rose 17% to $1.16 billion. The global sales of Dupixent, recorded by the Regeneron’s collaborator Sanofi, more than doubled to $557 million.
“We had a great quarter marked by top- and bottom-line growth as well as important advances across our innovative R&D engine. We are further unlocking EYLEA’s potential to help patients with the recent approval in diabetic retinopathy, and are advancing a high-dose formulation into the clinic later this year,” said CEO Leonard Schleifer.
For fiscal 2019, the management expects Sanofi collaboration revenue to be in the range of $500 million to $530 million, which is slightly above the previous outlook. Unreimbursed R&D expense, on a reported basis, is expected to be $2.300 billion to $2.380 billion, and SG&A expense between $1.705 billion and $1.785 billion. The forecast for capital expenditure is $380 million–$420 million.
During the quarter, the company’s key product EYLEA obtained FDA approval for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, while Dupixent got the green signal for treating chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis. Meanwhile, the European Commission approved Libtayo as a therapy for metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Related: Regeneron Q1 2019 Earnings Conference Call Transcript
Shares of Regeneron lost about 20% since the beginning of the year and so much in the past twelve months. The stock closed the last trading session lower.