By Siddhi Mahatole
July 23 (Reuters) – West Pharmaceutical Services raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts on Thursday as strong demand for components used in injectable drugs, including diabetes and obesity treatments, helped it beat second-quarter estimates.
Shares of the medical equipment maker were up nearly 6% in morning trading.
Here are the details:
• West Pharma makes components such as stoppers, plungers and delivery systems used to package and administer vaccines, biologics and other injectable drugs.
• Medical equipment makers such as West Pharma have benefited from surging demand for diabetes and obesity drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, which rely on injection pens to deliver the therapies.
• CEO Eric Green said generic GLP-1 drugs, particularly in Asia, are emerging as an additional growth opportunity for West, with demand in China, India and South Korea helping drive strong regional growth in the second quarter.
• The company said demand remained broad based, with CFO Bob McMahon saying both GLP-1 and non-GLP-1 high-value product components are now expected to grow at a high-teens rate this year.
• The Pennsylvania-based company reported second-quarter adjusted profit per share of $2.37, above analysts’ estimate of $2.08, according to LSEG data.
• Jefferies analyst David Windley said the forecast suggests the “management is taking a conservative approach and leaving room for future upside.”
• It expects 2026 adjusted profit per share to be between $8.85 and $9.05, compared to prior view of $8.40 to $8.75.
• The company expects its annual sales to be in the range of $3.35 billion to $3.38 billion, up from its previous forecast range of $3.295 billion to $3.35 billion.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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