By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) -Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday posted higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings on strong demand for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, but said 2021 sales of its other drugs will fall short of earlier estimates.
Without Veklury, also known as remdesivir, Gilead said it now expects sales for the full year of around $21.5 billion. That is down from its previous estimate of $21.7 billion to $21.9 billion, primarily reflecting the longer than expected impact of the pandemic on its business.
Gilead has said that sales, particularly of its flagship HIV drugs, have been hurt during the pandemic as many people avoided healthcare settings.
The company’s shares, which closed at $67.34, were down 2% at $66 in extended trading.
The biotechnology company reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $2.65 per share, soundly beating Wall Street estimates of $1.75 per share, as compiled by Refinitiv.
Gilead’s revenue for the quarter rose 13% from a year earlier to $7.4 billion, ahead of the average analyst estimate of $6.26 billion.
But the outperformance was almost entirely driven by sales of Veklury, which soared to $1.9 billion for the quarter, compared with analyst estimates of just $654 million.
Use of Veklury, an intravenous treatment given to people hospitalized with COVID-19, is driven by pandemic hospitalization rates, which have been falling in recent weeks.
Third-quarter sales of HIV medicines dropped 8% to $4.2 billion as some drugs lost a patent protection and the pandemic continued to limit visits to doctors.
Sales of newer breast cancer drug Trodelvy came it at $101 million for the quarter, in line with analyst estimates.
Gilead raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $7.90 to $8.10 per share from its prior projection of $6.90 to $7.25.
Including Veklury, the company said it now expects product sales for the year of $26 billion to $26.3 billion, compared with a previous estimate of $24.4 billion to $25 billion.
(Reporting By Deena BeasleyEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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