Actavis, Inc.'s
(
ACT
), formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., fourth quarter
2012 earnings (excluding special items) of $1.59 per share beat
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.53 but was 10.2% below the
year-ago earnings of $1.77 per share.
The fourth quarter 2011 earnings benefited from the launch of
its generic version of
Pfizer's
(
PFE
) Lipitor. Revenues for the reported quarter came in at
approximately $1.8 billion, up 13% from the year-ago figure,
edging past the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.7 billion.
For 2012, earnings increased 26% from the year-ago period to
$6.00 per share beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.94 per
share. Full year 2012 revenues increased 29% year over year to
$5.9 billion. Revenues were in line with the Zacks Consensus
Estimate.
Full year 2012 earnings were above Actavis' earlier issued
guidance whereas revenues matched the same. In Jan 2013, the
company had projected 2012 earnings on the higher end of its
guidance range of $5.85 to $5.95, on revenues of $5.9 billion.
Quarterly Details
Actavis operates through three segments: Actavis Pharma (formerly
Global Generics), Actavis Specialty Brands (formerly Global
Brands) and Anda Distribution.
The company's Actavis Pharma segment posted sales of $1.4
billion, up 21%. The upside was driven by new product launches
including the generic versions of Xopenex, Lovenox and Adderall
XR in the US. International revenues were strong at
$524.7million, up 245%.
Actavis Specialty Brands revenues came in at $132.2 million, up
9%. Increased contributions from products like Rapaflo and
Generess Fe and inclusion of Kadian revenues as a result of
Actavis acquisition aided the performance of the segment.
Net revenues from the Anda Distribution segment decreased 19%
during the quarter to $203.9 million. The decrease was due to
lower chain sales. This segment consists of only third-party
product sales.
Background
We remind investors that Actavis, Inc. in its current form came
into existence in Oct 2012 following the acquisition of Actavis
Pharma by the then known as Watson Pharma for €4.25 billion.
With this acquisition, the company has become the third largest
generic pharmaceutical company in the world. Actavis expects to
generate annual cost (SG&A, R&D, corporate, purchasing
and raw material supply) synergy savings of $300 million within
three years.
Outlook for 2013
Actavis continues to expect to earn $7.70 - $8.10 per share on
total revenues of about $8.1 billion in 2013. The Zacks Consensus
estimate is currently pegged at $8.08 per share on revenues of
$8.1 billion in 2013.
Actavis Pharma, the company's global generics business, is
expected to post revenues of $6.3 billion - $6.5 billion in 2013.
Actavis' global brands business, Actavis Specialty Brands, is
slated to post revenues of $550 million - $600 million in 2013.
The Anda Distribution segment is expected to post revenues of
$1.0 billion - $1.2 billion.
Our Take
We believe the company should be able to achieve its guidance
easily. With fewer major patent expiries slated to occur in the
next few years, we are encouraged by Actavis' focus on building
its branded and biosimilars pipeline.
Actavis currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other generic
players like
Mylan
(
MYL
) currently look better positioned with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Meanwhile, in the pharma space,
Valeant Pharma
(
VRX
) has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
ACTAVIS INC (ACT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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PFIZER INC (PFE): Free Stock Analysis Report
VALEANT PHARMA (VRX): Free Stock Analysis
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