Credit: Shutterstock photoMerck KGaAMKGAF is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2015 earnings results on Mar 8. Let's see how things are shaping up for this quarter.
The company reports its results in three business sectors - Healthcare, Life Science and Performance Materials.
The Healthcare division which consists of products like Rebrif, Erbitux, Gonal-f, and Neurobion should continue to perform well, driving sales of the division in the to-be-reported quarter. Moreover, sales in the Asia-Pacific region should fuel organic growth.
The Life Science division witnessed organic sales growth in the last quarter. This trend should persist in the to-be-reported quarter, driven by continued demand for its products. Further, growing demand for viral clearance products and purification solutions of the Process Solutions business is projected to contribute to quarterly results.
Lastly, sales at the Performance Materials unit should continue to improve on the back of the AZ Electronic Materials acquisition and the Advanced Technologies business unit.
During the fourth quarter, Merck KGaA completed the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich. With this transaction, the company has gained access to an attractive set of established brands and an efficient supply chain which will support the delivery of over 300,000 products, thereby enabling it to serve life science customers all over the world. The transaction had also allowed Merck KGaA to lift its 2015 guidance to €12.6- €12.8 billion from the previous projection of € 12.3- € 12.5 billion.
Meanwhile, in Dec 2015, Merck KGaA, in collaboration with Pfizer Inc. PFE , initiated four phase III studies on avelumab - JAVELIN Gastric 100 (first-line treatment of patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic gastric/ gastro-esophageal junction cancers whose disease has not progressed with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy), JAVELIN Gastric 300 (third-line treatment of advanced or metastatic gastric/gastro-esophageal junction cancers), JAVELIN Ovarian 200 (platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer) and JAVELIN Bladder 100 (first-line treatment of patients with urothelial cancer), respectively.
We note that early last quarter, the company reached an agreement with BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc. BMRN to return the rights to Kuvan for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).
Investors are expected to focus on the company's approved products and avelumab's progress during its fourth-quarter call.
A Stock That Warrants a Look
Here is a health care stock that you may want to consider, as our model shows that it has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.
BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. BDSI has an Earnings ESP of +3.64% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). It is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2015 results on Mar 10.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
