Shares in Teva Pharmaceuticals plunged to their lowest price in nearly 13 years after the generic drugmaker reported disappointing earnings, citing a saturated U.S. market for generics.
Teva on Thursday posted second-quarter revenue of $5.69 billion, up 13% year over year, but below the $5.85 billion consensus estimate of analysts. Adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share missed by 9 cents, falling 18.4% from the second quarter of 2016.
On news of the earnings, Teva stock dropped 24% to $23.75, the lowest price since November 2004.
“All of us at Teva understand the frustration and disappointment of our shareholders in light of these results,” interim CEO Yitzhak Peterburg said in a news release.
In the core generics business, he said, Teva “experienced accelerated price erosion and decreased volume mainly due to customer consolidation, greater competition as a result of an increase in generic drug approvals by the U.S. FDA, and some new product launches that were either delayed or subjected to more competition.”
Teva also cut its 2017 sales guidance to $22.8 billion to $23.2 billion from its earlier view for $23.8 billion to $24.5 billion. Earnings per share are expected to come in at $4.30-$4.50 from prior expectations for $4.90-$5.30.
Company officials told analysts on a conference call that the company expects the erosion in U.S. generic drug prices to accelerate in the second half of 2017 and into 2018.
“We think it would be unwise for investors to think that buying groups flexed their muscle in 2017 and now are done,” Wells Fargo analyst David Maris said in a research note. “We think there have been structural changes in the industry that may make the 25 percent plus operating margins the sector has seen a thing of the past.”
The world’s largest producer of generic medicines, which is based in Israel, has been without a permanent CEO since Eroz Vigodman resigned in February amid reports of a bribery investigation by the Israeli Police.
“We are focused on executing meaningful cost reductions, rationalizing our assets and maximizing their value, actively pursuing divestiture opportunities and strengthening our balance sheet,” Peterburg said.