Shares of Bausch & Lomb Corp. rose 10% early Wednesday after the eye care company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates and provided upbeat 2024 revenue guidance.
BLCO, headquartered in Ontario,
The company had a net loss of $54 million, or 15 cents per share, during the quarter, after a loss of $1 million in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share came to 24 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 17 cents.
Revenue rose to $1.173 billion from $996 million a year ago, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.106 billion.
CEO Brent Saunders said revenue growth in 2023 exceeded the company's expectations and set the trend for 2024.
The company now expects its 2024 revenue to range from $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion, while FactSet expects $4.55 billion.
On a call with analysts, Saunders said the company is expanding its R&D capabilities across the entire portfolio.
“We can and must explore all possibilities when it comes to building on the success of existing brands,” he said, according to a FactSet transcript.
“Second, we are reloading our pipeline focusing on areas of unmet need. Our revitalized business development function will play a key role there as we cast a wide net of potential game-changers.”
See also: Bausch & Lomb buys dry eye treatment from Novartis in $2.5 billion deal
The company is also looking at strategic deals, such as adding smaller or mid- to late-stage R&D products to all businesses, he said.
Revenue for the company's vision care segment rose 6% in the quarter to $662 million. The growth was driven by higher sales of Lumify eye drops, eye vitamins and Dry Eye Portfolio in the consumer eye care segment and higher sales of SiHy Daily and Ultra lenses in the contact lens segment. This was partially offset by unfilled orders due to a system upgrade at the Lynchburg distribution facility that impacted the lens business.
Revenue in the surgical segment increased 9% to $204 million, while revenue in the pharmaceutical segment rose 67% to $307 million.
Operating income fell to $49 million from $51 million a year ago, mostly due to higher selling, general and administrative costs resulting from product launches.
The stock is down 21% in the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 SPX,
It rose by 24.5%.
