Gilead Sciences Irish pharma unit records $1.84bn loss

The main Irish unit of pharmaceutical giant Gilead recorded a pre-tax loss of $1.84 billion (€1.63bn) last year. New accounts show that Cork-based Gilead Sciences Ireland Unlimited (GSIU), which produces drugs to combat HIV and hepatitis C, last year sustained the pre-tax loss after it recorded a non-cash impairment of $18.4 billion in a financial asset.

The write-down was partially offset by GSIU receiving a dividend of $16.73 billion from group undertakings.

The loss last year followed a pre-tax profit of $288.37 million in 2019. The 2020 loss took account of hefty non-cash amortisation charges of $1.54 billion.

Last year Gilead Science Ireland Unlimited announced a €7 million expansion to its Irish operations with the creation of an additional 140 jobs here. At the time of the announcement Gilead employed 370 jobs and had invested €225 million here.

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The accounts show Gilead Sciences Ireland Unlimited last year recorded an operating loss of $184 million after its revenues slumped from $6.65 billion to $5.59 billion.

The directors state that revenues declined primarily due to lower hepatitis C product sales and this was partially offset by higher sales of the company’s HIV products. They state that the lower Hepatitis C product sales was mainly “due to lower sales volume driven by lower patient starts in the US and Europe attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Numbers employed at the company last year increased from 406 to 430 and staff costs totalled $73 million.

Directors’ pay totalled $2.89 million made up of emoluments of $1.43 million and a further $1.46 million under long-term incentive schemes.

Last year Gilead Science Ireland Unlimited paid a cash dividend of $2.1 billion to an immediate parent, Gilead Biopharmaceutics Ireland UC.

The directors state that a further dividend of $800 million has been paid out this year.

They state that they hope to expand the oncology and liver disease therapeutic areas due to recent acquisitions, and will be launching two new products from these acquisitions in 2021.