BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN 2.54%) logged over $1 billion in revenue -- the traditional level for a blockbuster -- for the first time in 2016. Of course, that's combined sales of its four drugs, but it's still a mighty accomplishment that many drugmakers never reach.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical results: The raw numbers
|
Metric |
Q4 2016 |
Q4 2015 |
Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Revenue |
$300 million |
$228 million |
31.7% |
|
Income from operations |
($89.6 million) |
$126.6 million |
N/A |
|
Earnings per share |
($0.53) |
$0.39 |
N/A |
Data source: BioMarin Pharmaceutical.
What happened with BioMarin Pharmaceutical this quarter?
- Don't freak out about the switch from a profit to a loss; the year-ago quarter had a large credit for the sale of talazoparib to Medivation.
- Sales of Vimizim, Kuvan, and Naglazyme increased by 59%, 38%, and 25%, respectively.
- The only drug that saw year-over-year declines was Aldurazyme, which was down 10% year over year, but the drop is simply due to the amount of drug BioMarin transferred to its partner Sanofi (SNY +0.34%). Sales of Aldurazyme by Sanofi were actually flat year over year.
- In December, the company started a phase 3 trial for vosoritide, its treatment for achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.
Image source: Getty Images.
What management had to say
BioMarin CFO Dan Spiegelman painted a bright future for growing revenue, saying:
Our 2017 revenue growth is just under 15% based on the midpoint of our guidance. Beyond 2017 we anticipate annual revenue growth to continue at approximately 15% throughout the rest of the decade based on our current products plus the launches of Brineura and pegvaliase. Beyond that time frame we expect revenue growth to accelerate further following the potential launches of products in our pipeline such as BMN 270 and vosoritide.
While the company isn't giving earnings goals beyond this year, Spiegelman noted that it is "committed to having [growth of operation expenses] be less than revenue growth." He added, "The magnitude of the difference in 2017 is almost, by definition, as big as it can be."
Looking forward
Management is guiding for revenue of $1.25 billion to $1.3 billion, which as Spiegelman noted, would be a solid double-digit increase over the $1.12 billion seen in 2016. Vimizim continues to drive growth with Kuvan also expected to experience double-digit growth.
On the bottom line, management expects a loss of $140 million to $180 million on a GAAP basis, but on an adjusted basis, management is looking for a profit between $30 million and $70 million.
Looking toward the next growth driver, the Food and Drug Administration has a goal of making a decision on Brineura by April 27, 2017. A decision on the drug's approval in Europe is expected in the third quarter of this year.
And BioMarin could have another approval next year as it plans to submit a marketing application for pegvaliase to the FDA in the second quarter of this year.
