By Siddhi Mahatole and Kunal Das April 23 (Reuters) – West Pharmaceutical on Thursday beat quarterly results estimates and raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts, betting on strong demand for proprietary products that include syringes and cartridges for injectable drugs. The upbeat results sent the shares up 15.2% in morning trade. Medical equipment makers […]
Health
West Pharma lifts 2026 profit forecast on strong demand for medical equipment
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By Siddhi Mahatole and Kunal Das
April 23 (Reuters) – West Pharmaceutical on Thursday beat quarterly results estimates and raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts, betting on strong demand for proprietary products that include syringes and cartridges for injectable drugs.
The upbeat results sent the shares up 15.2% in morning trade.
Medical equipment makers such as West Pharma have benefited from surging demand for blockbuster diabetes and obesity injections from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
West Pharma makes components such as stoppers, plungers and delivery systems used to package and administer vaccines, biologics and other injectable drugs.
But investors have recently been concerned about whether the rollout of oral obesity drugs could eat into the demand for injectable therapies and dampen West Pharma’s growth.
“We thought it would take a big result for investors to look past it – which is exactly what West delivered,” said Evercore ISI analyst Daniel Markowitz.
West now expects 2026 adjusted profit per share between $8.40 and $8.75, up from its prior forecast of $7.85 to $8.20.
Analysts were expecting $8.01 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company has factored higher oil and commodity prices into its outlook and is taking steps to mitigate those pressures, said Chief Financial Officer Bob McMahon.
West expects a net impact of the higher prices in the single‑digit millions, McMahon said, adding that the company’s operations and supply chain have not been affected.
The company posted quarterly adjusted profit per share of $2.13, above analysts’ estimate of $1.68. Quarterly revenue rose to $844.9 million, above expectations of $780 million.
West expects second-quarter sales from $830 million to $850 million, compared with estimates of $818.5 million.
It forecasts 2026 sales between $3.29 billion and $3.35 billion, up from its prior view of $3.215 billion to $3.275 billion.
(Reporting by Kunal Das and Siddhi Mahatole; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Sahal Muhammed)