Perrigo (PRGO) Misses On Earnings In Q1, Reiterates View

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) reported first-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of 57 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14 by 50%. The bottom line, however, increased 14% from the year-ago figure of 50 cents.

Net sales in the reported quarter increased 1.9% to $1.22 billion. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.21 billion.

The company’s shares have underperformed the industry year to date. The stock has declined 9.1% as against the industry’s rally of 4.1%.

Segment Discussion

Effective Jan 1, 2017, the company’s reporting segments are: Consumer Health Care Americas (“CHCA”), Consumer Health Care International (“CHCI”), Prescription Pharmaceuticals (“RX”) and Other Segment.

CHCA: CHCA net sales in the first quarter of 2018 came in at $602 million, up 3.2% year over year. This upside can be attributed to a strong performance from the infant nutrition, analgesics and cough cold categories compared with the year-ago quarter. New product sales of $11 million also contributed to the top line.

However, this upside was partially offset by lower sales in the animal health category and discontinued products of $2 million.

CHCI: CHCI segment reported net sales of $401 million, up 7% (declined 4.5% on a constant-currency basis) from the year-ago period. Excluding exited Russian and unprofitable distribution businesses in 2017, and favorable foreign currency movements of $43 million, net revenues grew 1.4% driven by new product sales of $20 million.

However, this was partially offset by lower net sales in the cough cold, personal care and analgesics categories in addition to discontinued products of $6 million.

RX: This segment’s net sales slipped 1.5% to $214 million on a reported basis and 1.6% on a constant-currency basis. New product sales of $10 million were offset by lower net revenues of existing products of $12 million, primarily due to price erosion, which was in line with expectations. New product sales were lower than expected due to a supply disruption of a key new product.

2018 Earnings Outlook

Perrigo reiterated its revenue guidance and expects it to be in the range of $5.0-$5.1 billion in 2018.

The company also reaffirmed its adjusted earnings guidance and expects it to be in the band of $5.05 to $5.45 per share.

Corporate Governance

Perrigo’s board of directors appointed Rolf A. Classon, who served on the company’s board since May 2017, as the chairman, effective May 7.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Perrigo is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.

A few better-ranked stocks from the same space worth considering are Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) , Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) and Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) . All of them sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ligand’s earnings per share estimates have moved up from $4.24 to $4.43 for 2018 over the last 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 24.88%. The company’s shares have rallied 15% year to date.

Protagonist’s loss estimates narrowed from $1.30 to 66 cents for 2018 and from $1.99 to $1.26 for 2019, over the last 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 24.95%.

Illumina’s earnings per share estimates have moved up $4.59 to $4.84 for 2018 and from $5.33 to $5.57 for 2019, in the last 60 days. The company came up with a positive earnings surprise in all the preceding four quarters, with an average beat of 23.17%. The stock has rallied 17.6% so far this year.

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