NEW YORK -
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said Tuesday its 2008 and 2009 profit and revenue may top Wall Street expectations, despite the generic drug maker's plan to incur significantly higher research and development costs over these years.
Teva forecast 2008 adjusted earnings per share of $2.60 to $2.75 on sales of about $10.75 billion, and reiterated its previous outlook for 2009 earnings-per-share of more than $3. Teva said the guidance takes into account its plan to grow R&D expenses to a range of 1.5 percent of total sales.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial estimate 2008 earnings per share of $2.69 on revenue of $10.46 billion, and 2009 profit of $3.01 per share.
On a conference call with analysts, Teva said its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone became a market leader in the U.S. in 2007, passing the $1 billion mark for the first time, and it expects the drug to become the global leader in the MS market in 2008.
Separately, the company reported its profit rose 24 percent in the fourth quarter, as the launch of generic Protonix helped drive revenue. During the quarter, Teva rolled out heartburn drug pantoprazole, which is a generic version of Wyeth's drug Protonix.
In a note to investors, Buckingham Research Group analyst David Buck called the guidance "somewhat disappointing given the generic Protonix launch and a lower tax-rate than modeled."
Buck, who downgraded the stock last month on valuation and the departure of North American Chief Executive George Barrett, maintained a "Neutral" rating on Teva shares, considering them range-bound at current levels.
U.S.-listed shares of Israeli-based Teva fell 13 cents to $46.77 in midday trading
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