Viatris (VTRS, Financials) shares dropped about 15% in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued a 2025 outlook below analyst expectations.
Missing average projections by $80 million, the pharmaceutical giant said its fourth-quarter income dropped 8% year over year to $3.5 billion. With adjusted profits per share at $0.54, $0.03 short of estimates. Revenue decreased 5% to $14.7 billion for the full year 2024; the adjusted gross margin dipped to around 56% in the fourth quarter and 58% for the year, from 58% and 59% in the previous-year periods.
Viatris blamed continuous remedial work at its Indore, India, production site—which got a warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June—for part of the profits deficit. With the business anticipating the problem to lower 2025 sales by around $500 million and adjusted profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization by $385 million, the regulatory action resulted in an import restriction on eleven pharmaceutical goods.
Viatris anticipated sales of $13.75 billion for 2025 and modified EPS of $2.19 at the midpoint, both below analyst projections of $14.22 billion and $2.59, respectively.
With full remediation planned in the next months, the business claimed more than half of the compliance work at the India factory has been finished. Viatris intends to ask for an FDA reinspection once completed.
Generic medication sales dropped 5% to $1.3 billion while branded pharmaceutical sales dropped around 10% to $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter. In the quarter, adjusted net profits dropped 12% year over year to $655.6 million; for the whole year, they dropped 10% to $3.2 billion.
