By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) – Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday posted higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings as strong demand for its COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Veklury, offset flagging sales of its HIV drugs.
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.
Sales of Veklury, also known as remdesivir, soared to $1.9 billion for the quarter, compared with analyst estimates of just $654 million.
Gilead’s 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.
For full-year 2021, Gilead raised its forecast for adjusted earnings per share to $7.90 to $8.10 from its prior projection of $6.90 to $7.25. 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 Beasley)
