O/T Gilead sales, profit soar

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 2:01pm PST

Gilead sales, profit soar

San Francisco Business Times - by Ron Leuty

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/01/26/daily39.ht

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With fourth-quarter profit up 40 percent and revenue up 30 percent

on the strength of its HIV drugs, Gilead Sciences Inc.'s 2008 profit

hit $2 billion, or $2.10 per diluted share, on revenue of $5.3

billion.

The City-based drug developer (NASDAQ: GILD) said product

sales increased 35 percent to a record $1.4 billion in the fourth

quarter, compared with $1 billion in the same quarter of 2007. For

all of 2008, product sales increased 36 percent from the year before.

In the fourth quarter, Gilead earned $568.2 million, or 60 cents per

diluted share. Analysts on average had expected 57 cents per share.

It earned $401.6 million, or 41 cents per share, in the same period

of 2007.

Gilead's antiviral franchise, including strong growth in sales of

the HIV drugs Atripla and Truvada, were responsible for much of the

sales increase. Antiviral product sales increased 36 percent, to

$4.67 billion, over 2007, including a 35 percent increase in the

fourth quarter.

At $2.1 billion in sales, two-in-one HIV treatment Truvada was the

company's biggest seller for the year, compared to $1.6 billion in

2007. That was followed by three-in-one pill Atripla ($1.5 billion

vs. $903.4 million in 2007), Viread ($621.2 million vs. $613.2

million), hepatitis B treatment Hepsera ($341 million vs. $302.7

million) and fungal infection fighter AmBisome ($289.7 million vs.

$262.6 million).

Truvada combines Gilead's Emtriva and Viread, while Atripla combines

Emtriva, Viread with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Sustiva. Both are taken

once a day.

Gilead said its research and development expenses were $721.8

million in 2008, including $201.9 million in the fourth quarter.

That compares with $591 million in 2007 and $184.6 million in fourth-

quarter 2007.

Shares of Gilead stock closed down 16 cents at $47.15 per share. It

had lost $1.08 in after-hours trading.

rleuty@... / (415) 288-4939