AbbVie raises 2024 profit forecast on strong sales of key drugs Skyrizi, Rinvoq
Updates shares in paragraph 1; adds comments from conference call and analyst in paragraphs 3, 5
By Leroy Leo
Oct 30 (Reuters) -AbbVie ABBV.N raised its annual profit forecast after strong sales of its newer immunology drugs and key cancer treatment helped the company beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter earnings, sending the drugmaker's shares up 2% on Wednesday.
The company has been working to offset a decline in sales of Humira, once the world's top-selling medicine, by pushing its newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq amid competition from multiple less-expensive biosimilars that hit the U.S. market last year.
While Humira's sales volumes have increasingly shifted to other drugs over successive quarters this year, that has also benefited Skyrizi and Rinvoq, AbbVie's Chief Commercial Officer Jeffrey Stewart said on a post-earnings call on Wednesday.
Skyrizi recorded third-quarter sales of $3.21 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.93 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Rinvoq reported sales of $1.61 billion, compared with expectations of $1.54 billion.
AbbVie's core growth drivers in Skyrizi and Rinvoq are continuing to trend ahead of expectations, J.P.Morgan analyst Chris Schott said.
Arthritis drug Humira's global sales of $2.23 billion in the third quarter missed estimates of $2.39 billion. Its U.S. sales fell 42%, partially due to the drug's removal from pharmacy benefit managers' lists of preferred drugs for reimbursement.
Pharmacy benefit managers, who act as middlemen with insurers, have instead been recommending biosimilars.
AbbVie now expects its full-year adjusted profit to be between $10.90 and $10.94 per share, compared with its prior forecast range of $10.67 to $10.87 per share.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $3 per share in the third quarter, beating estimates by 9 cents.
The company also said it will increase its 2025 dividend by 5.8%, starting February.
Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
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