Alkermes Plc. (ALKS) saw its loss narrow to $21.14 million, or $0.14 a share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $69.38 million, or $0.46 a share. On an adjusted basis, net profit for the quarter stood at $23.26 million, or $0.15 a share compared with a net loss of $21 million, or $0.14 a share in the last year period.
Revenue during the quarter surged 30.91 percent to $213.51 million from $163.10 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 496 basis points over the previous year period to 83.63 percent. Operating margin for the quarter stood at negative 11.02 percent as compared to a negative 41.11 percent for the previous year period.
Operating loss for the quarter was $23.54 million, compared with an operating loss of $67.06 million in the previous year period.
"We have built Alkermes to thrive in an increasingly challenging biopharmaceutical industry. Our base business of FDA-approved medicines is significant and growing, led by VIVITROL and ARISTADA. We have identified our next phase of growth based on a remarkable, late-stage, phase 3 portfolio. Our focus on large, chronic diseases of the CNS coupled with our approach to selecting, developing, and commercializing medicines is unique and built for a complex public health environment," said Richard Pops, chief executive officer of Alkermes. "2017 will bring an unprecedented level of activity across all of the major areas of Alkermes. Our proprietary commercial products, VIVITROL and ARISTADA, will continue their growth as we bring new and distinctive features to patients and providers. For ARISTADA, we expect approval and launch of the two-month dose mid-year, which will be the only two-month option available in the long-acting injectable antipsychotic market. Our late-stage pipeline will continue to evolve rapidly, highlighted by the planned NDA submission for ALKS 5461 in major depressive disorder, the completion of the pivotal efficacy study of ALKS 3831 in schizophrenia, and completion of the required elements for registration of ALKS 8700 in multiple sclerosis."
For fiscal year 2017, Alkermes forecasts revenue to be in the range of $870 million to $920 million. It expects net loss to be $195 million. It projects net income to be in the range of $180 million to $210 million, the company forecasts diluted loss per share to be $1.27. The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.17 to $1.36, the company expects diluted loss per share to be in the range of negative $0.10 to $0.10 on adjusted basis.
Debt comes downAlkermes has recorded a decline in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $283.67 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, down 18.94 percent or $66.28 million from $349.94 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 16.43 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 18.86 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.23 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 0.27 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
