Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) shares are down premarket following its fourth-quarter earnings release, which saw revenue come in below consensus expectations.
The pharmaceutical and healthcare company reported Q4 EPS of EUR1.66, EUR0.74 better than the analyst estimate of EUR0.92. Revenue for the quarter was EUR10.92 billion versus the consensus estimate of EUR12.65 billion.
Q4 sales rose 9.3% year-on-year, with vaccine sales up 21.2%, mainly as a result of the "unprecedented uptake" of Beyfortus. However, general medicines declined by 2.4%.
"We have delivered another year of strong underlying performance of our core drivers in Specialty Care and Vaccines supported by the outstanding launch execution of Beyfortus, Altuviiio and Tzield," said Paul Hudson, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer. "With scientific news flow at an all-time high, pipeline advances and 12 potential blockbusters in late-stage development, including amlitelimab, frexalimab and tolebrutinib, our R&D transformation has reached an inflection point on the road to industry leadership in immunology."
Reacting to the report, analysts at Citi said the underlying story is unchanged for the company.
The company's revenues were "light of consensus by -1% (FX driven) though we note Dupixent beat and Beyfrortus revenues >€540m in 2023, EBIT -7% light on higher opex with a lower tax rate leaving EPS light by -2%," analysts maintained a Buy rating on the stock. "2024 guidance reiterated with FX headwinds of - 3-5% implying consensus EPS downgrades of 4%. A 'strong EPS rebound' expected in 2025."
Morgan Stanley's analysts kept an Equal-Weight rating on SNY, saying they expect Sanofi shares to be broadly flat to slightly down, "with a small miss on 4Q23 Q23 expectations and FY24 guidance implying a small FX-based cut to consensus."