Hospira Q2 Adj Profit Tops View, But Revenues Miss; Backs 2013 Outlook

(RTTNews) - Pharmaceutical and medication delivery company Hospira, Inc. (HSP) reported Wednesday a profit for the second quarter compared to a loss last year, reflecting lower charges and improved margins.

Adjusted earnings per share topped analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues missed their estimates by a whisker. The company also maintained its earnings and revenue growth guidance for the full-year 2013.

"Results for the second quarter were in line with our expectations. In addition, it was a quarter of several milestone achievements for Hospira, such as the positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on our biosimilar infliximab, Inflectra™, and the U.S. launch of the new premix versions of our branded sedation agent, Precedex," CEO Michael Ball said in a statement.

The Lake Forest, Illinois-based world's leading provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies reported net income of $32.9 million or $0.20 per share for the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $2.5 million or $0.02 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Results for the latest quarter include total charges of $0.35 per share, while the year-ago results included $0.53 per share of total charges.

Excluding the items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $92.1 million or $0.55 per share, compared to $84.9 million or $0.51 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.51 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter edged down 0.7 percent to $1.026 billion from $1.033 billion in the same quarter last year, and missed nine Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $1.03 billion by a whisker.

"Continued strong global sales of Precedex and higher pricing on certain specialty injectable pharmaceuticals (SIP) products in the U.S. were more than offset by the impact of pricing erosion of certain newer U.S. SIP products and lower device sales," the company stated.

Net sales of specialty injectable pharmaceuticals or SIP products, increased 7.1 percent to $689.8 million, while medication management product sales declined 16.1 percent to $214.0 million, and other pharma sales decreased 8.7 percent to $122.4 million from last year.

Total Americas sales edged up 0.7 percent to $816.2 million, while total Europe, Middle East & Africa sales declined 4.4 percent to $129.3 million, and total Asia Pacific sales decreased 8.0 percent to $80.7 million from last year.

Gross Profit margin for the quarter improved 70 basis points to 31.1 percent from last year's 27.4 percent.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2013, the company continue to expect adjusted earnings in a range of $2.00 to $2.10 per share, on projected adjusted net sales between a decline of 1 percent and growth of 1 percent on a constant-currency basis.

Street is currently looking for full-year 2013 earnings of $2.03 per share, on revenue decline of 0.7 percent to $4.06 billion.

"We are driving forward to ensure we meet the expectations of our regulators and customers, and remain focused on the execution of our quality and growth initiatives. We believe these actions are positioning Hospira for a stronger, more competitive future with sustainable, long-term shareholder value," Ball added.

In Wednesday's regular trading session, the company's stock is currently trading higher by $1.17 or 2.95% at $40.87 on a volume of 0.56 million shares.