The French-based international pharmaceutical firm, Aventis cut its earnings guidance for 2003 this morning to reflect the competitive threat to its top allergy drug Allegra in the United States, afterreporting strong profit growth in 2002.
The company, which employs more than 200 people in manufacturing and marketing in Ireland, met analyst expectations for 2002 with a 28 per cent rise in net income from its core business to €2.08 billion euros, equivalent to a gain in earnings per share of 27 per cent to €2.62.
Aventis now forecasts 2003 EPS growth, excluding the impact of currencies, in the mid to high teens per cent, on sales growthin the high single digits.
A similar rate of growth is expected in 2004. Previously, the company had indicated annual growth of 25 to 30 per cent in EPS and 11 to 12 per cent in sales through 2004.
The recent weakening of the dollar against the euro could depress reported growth further in 2003, knocking 2 to 3 percentage points off EPS and 5 to 6 points off sales, assuming current exchange rates prevail for the rest of 2003.