Teva Pharmaceutical Industries on Thursday revised its 2012 revenue and profit forecast downward, citing weakness in its Europe markets.
Under the new forecast, the world's biggest maker of generic drugs expects net sales to reach between $20 billion and $21 billion this year - as much as $2 billion less than its previous forecast made last December.
Teva estimated that its non-GAAP earnings per share would be between $5.30 and $5.40 for the year, down from a previously estimated range of $5.48 to $5.68.
On average, 28 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $5.59 a share for 2012, their forecasts ranging from $5.42 to $5.93. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
CEO Jeremy Levin declined to confirm in a conference call two weeks ago the company's earlier outlook, which had been made by his predecessor, Shlomo Yanai. That is believed to have been the reason why Teva shares posted a 10% decline in the following two weeks. Levin, it seems, felt he needed to provide an updated forecast to improve confidence in the company.
Teva shares finished 1.6% higher at NIS 151.80 in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange trading on Thursday. On Nasdaq, the shares traded higher in the morning before slipping into the red in the early afternoon. By 3 P.M. New York time, they were down 0.8% at $38.26.
Earlier this month, Teva said first-quarter profit grew about 13% from last year as revenues climbed 25% due to growth in both branded and generic products.
Levin attributed his lower full-year 2012 forecasted sales to the weakness of the euro and to lower prices paid by governments for drugs. Those two factors will trim overall revenue by $1 billion, he said.
The new forecast comprises net sales of $10.5 billion for the United States, $5.8 billion for Europe and $4.2 billion for the rest of the world. Last December, Teva had projected U.S. net sales of $11 billion, $6.6 billion for Europe and $4.4 billion for all other countries.
The company now sees generic product net sales of around $10.7 billion and brand product net sales of about $8 billion. Multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, its best-selling drug, will reach sales of $3.8 billion, Teva said.
Net sales of over-the-counter drugs are expected to be around $1 billion for 2012.
Reuters contributed to this report.
