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Shire share price soars as it raises full year guidance to “high 30 pc”
Shire's share price soared this afternoon after the British pharma group posted strong quarterly results, increasing its full year guidance to “the high 30 per cent range”.
The group, which acquired ViroPharma in January of this year, reported total revenue growth of 32 per cent for the three months to September 30, reaching $1.6bn (£1bn), whilea earnings jumped 46 per cent. Non GAAP operating income was up 60 per cent to $717m.
Shire's share price was up 2.3 per cent at pixel time as a result.
Fresh from being rebuffed by AbbVie last week, Shire's chairman Susan Kilsby said she was confident that “as an independent company” it would deliver “long-term value to our shareholders and improved outcomes for patients”.
She added:
Shire is well-positioned for future growth as we implement our plan to double product sales to $10 billion by 2020… On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank the Shire management team and employees for the achievement of outstanding financial results during the third quarter.
Flemming Ornskov MD, Shire’s chief executive said: “Our third quarter results demonstrate our exceptional track record of delivering value and growth… These results are a testament to our ability to drive top line growth and our continued emphasis on operational discipline.”
He added: “Our strong momentum and performance this quarter is evidence of our ability to deliver growth, efficiency and innovation through our commitment to addressing significant unmet need in Rare Diseases and high-value specialty conditions. As a result, I am pleased to once again increase our guidance for 2014.
“We now expect to deliver non GAAP diluted earnings per ADS growth in the high 30 percent range in 2014.”
AbbVie walked away from the £32bn deal because of forthcoming changes to US regulation designed to tackle so called "tax inversion" deals. Although it originated in the UK, Shire is headquartered in Ireland.