Gilead posts quarterly loss on acquisition charge, revenue rises 5%

By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) -Gilead Sciences reported a first-quarter loss on Thursday after taking a $3.9 billion charge for its recent acquisition of liver drug developer CymaBay Therapeutics, while revenue rose 5% on higher HIV, oncology and liver disease treatment sales.

For full-year 2024, Gilead said it still expects product sales of $27.1 billion to $27.5 billion, but lowered its earnings outlook to include the recent charge as well as incremental expenses related to the CymaBay deal.

The company said it now expects 2024 adjusted profit of $3.45 to $3.85 a share, down from a previous range of $6.85 to $7.25.

"This is mostly expected and hence no major surprises," Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a research note.

Wall Street analysts currently project Gilead's 2024 earnings at $3.94 a share on revenue of $27.5 billion, according to LSEG data.

Shares of Gilead, which fell 2.7% to close at $65.27 on Thursday, were up 3.3% at $67.44 in after hours trading.

The California-based drugmaker's first-quarter revenue totaled $6.69 billion, ahead of the average analyst projection of $6.34 billion.

Gilead posted an adjusted quarterly loss of $1.32 a share, which was better than the $1.48 per share loss forecast by analysts.

On a net basis, which included a $2.4 billion writedown of assets acquired from Immunomedics in 2020, Gilead reported a quarterly loss of $3.34 per share.

HIV product sales increased 4% from a year earlier to $4.3 billion. Quarterly sales of HIV drug Biktarvy rose 10% to $2.9 billion, which was in line with analyst estimates.

Gilead's oncology sales rose 18% to $789 million.

"We had a really strong quarter as reflected in both our commercial performance and clinical execution," Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day said in an interview.

He added that Gilead has "54 active clinical programs and no major patent expiries until the end of 2030."

The company expects pivotal-stage trial results later this year from several key programs, including cancer drug Trodelvy and a long-acting HIV prevention drug.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is slated to decide by Aug. 14 whether to approve seladelpar, an experimental treatment for a rare liver disease developed by CymaBay.

(Reporting By Deena BeasleyEditing by Bill Berkrot)