By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries reported a larger than expected rise in first-quarter profit, helped by strong sales gains for a trio of its branded drugs treating migraines, Huntington’s disease and schizophrenia.
The world’s largest generic drugmaker, Teva is relying on these and other innovative drugs to drive growth and help it raise its operating margin by four points to 30% by 2027.
“Two years ago, nobody thought Teva could do anything in innovation,” chief executive Richard Francis told Reuters. “What we’re seeing now … shows whether it’s the US, Europe or international markets, we’re really good at innovative R&D and innovative commercialization.”
Francis said generics remains a key pillar of its growth strategy and Teva plans a number of copycat launches along with biosimilars in the next two years.
Teva said on Wednesday it earned 52 cents per diluted share, excluding one-time items, in the January-March quarter, up from 48 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue rose 2% to $3.89 billion.
Analysts had forecast earnings of 46 cents per share ex-items for the Israel-based company on revenue of $3.99 billion, LSEG I/B/E/S data showed.
Growth was led by a 39% rise in sales of Huntington’s disease drug Austedo, a 26% gain in migraine medicine Ajovy and a 156% jump in schizophrenia treatment Uzedy.
Teva expects Austedo sales of $1.95-$2.05 billion in 2025, with Ajovy hitting around $600 million and Uzedy at $160 million.
Overall, Teva sees 2025 revenue of $16.8-$17.4 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $2.45-$2.65, up from a prior estimate of $2.35-$2.65.
The company noted its net debt fell to $15 billion and that it expects net savings of $700 million by 2027.
Francis said that Teva’s strong manufacturing footprint in the United States should enable it to avoid damage from potential U.S. tariffs.
Teva’s New York listed shares rose 7.3% to $17.29 by late morning trade.
David Amsellem, an analyst at Piper Sandler, said he remained bullish with an ‘overweight’ rating, citing the branded drugs business.
“That … reinforces our view that Teva is well-positioned for sustained multiple expansion,” he said.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by Louise Heavens and Elaine Hardcastle)
