Shire expects sales growth in 2011
PHARMA firm Shire said it would sustain the strong sales growth of 2010, when its rare disease business reaped a windfall from problems at US rival Genzyme.
Shire, which also makes hyperactivity and gastrointestinal drugs, said sales would again rise by about 16 per cent in 2011, against its target to grow revenue in the mid-teens, after it posted fourth-quarter profit matching in-house forecasts.
“We are increasingly confident about achieving our aspirational growth targets,” chief executive Angus Russell said. “It’s a marginal improvement on people’s expectations.”
Shire posted a seven per cent drop in fourth-quarter non-Gaap earnings per American depository share to $1.03, in line with analysts’ forecasts. Total revenue for the final three months of the year rose four per cent to $931m (£578m).