Shares in Mylan (NDSQ:MYL) rose slightly today after the pharmaceutical giant missed expectations on Wall Street with its 3rd-quarter results.
The Canonsburg, Pa.-based company posted a net loss of -$119.8 million, or -23¢ per share, on sales of $3.06 billion for the 3 months ended Sept. 30, for a bottom-line slide of -3% on sales growth of 14.2% compared with the same period last year.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.38, behind the $1.45 consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $3.12 billion.
“Our 3rd-quarter results were consistent with the full-year guidance we provided a few weeks ago. During the quarter, we reported strong performance across our European and rest-of -world regions, as well as solid performance across our North American region despite challenging year-over-year comparisons due to the significant contribution from new products in last year’s 3rd quarter. In our specialty segment, while EpiPen auto-injector scripts grew quarter-over-quarter, volumes were down due to the lack of wholesaler purchases in the quarter in anticipation of our upcoming generic launch,” CEO Heather Bresch >said in prepared remarks. “Over the next 18 to 24 months, we will focus on integrating and driving efficiencies across our global platform and we will be considering how best to deploy our capital and leverage our differentiated platform over the longer term to ensure Mylan’s sustainable growth for many years to come.”
Mylan said it expects to post full-year adjusted EPS of $4.70 to $4.90, down from previous guidance of $4.85 to $5.15.
The company is working to finalize a settlement with the U.S. government over Medicaid rebates for its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment. Mylan told Reuters that the money set aside for the settlement ultimately led to the Q3 loss. The company reported in October that it would pay a $465 million settlement, but the U.S. government has not confirmed the agreement.
Mylan has been under fire since August, when reports surfaced that it had raised the price of its device by 500% over the past decade. Bresch has since testified before Congress about the company’s pricing strategies, but some politicians are calling on regulatory groups to investigate.
On a conference call with analysts, Bresch reportedly claimed that high deductible health plans and pricing pressures created headwinds for its business in the U.S. “We wish we had better anticipated the acceleration for rising out-of-pocket costs” for our customers, she said.
MYL shares were trading at $39.99 apiece today in morning trading, up 2.8%.
