A bigger tax bill and costly restructuring expenses saw Shire PLC’s (LON:SHP) third-quarter profits fall in what could be the drugmaker’s final set of results as a listed company.
Back in May, Shire agreed to be taken out by Japanese pharma group Takeda for US$62bn.
The two parties are just waiting on the final few regulatory clearances, with the US, Japan and several others, having already given their backing to the merger.
READ: Takeda proposes sales of Shire drug to appease EU regulators
Chief executive Flemming Ornskov repeated today (Thursday) that the deal is on track to clear in the first half of 2019.
Revenue rose 5% to US$3.87bn in the three months ended September 30, boosted by a 6% jump in product sales to US$3.75bn.
The immunology division was the standout performer, with Shire’s new hereditary angioedema (HAE) drug, Takhzyro, generating sales of US$51mln despite only being approved by US regulators at the end of August.
But the top-line growth didn’t trickle down to the bottom line as net income slipped 2% to US$537mln.
Guidance updated
The FTSE 100 company’s tax bill soared to US$203.3mln in the quarter from just US$13.5mln a year earlier, while Shire also recorded reorganisation costs of US$255mln during the period (Q3 17: US$5mln), which it said, “primarily related to expenses associated with office facility closures”.
Some of those costs were offset by the US$267mln gain it made from the sale of its oncology division, which completed in August.
Given the previous forecasts included that arm of the business, Shire has reset its full-year guidance. It now expects to report revenue of between US$15.3-15.8bn and earnings per share in the range of US$7.17-7.77.
Debt reduced
“We continue to deliver solid growth and pay down our debt while advancing our late-stage pipeline,” said CEO Ornskov.
“Our growth was once again driven by our Immunology franchise, recently-launched products, and expansion in international markets.
He added: “Proceeds from the sale of our Oncology franchise coupled with strong free cash flow allowed us to reduce net debt by US$3.9bn year to date.”
Shares were down 1% to 4,635p in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday.