Strong 2014 financials from Shire, bolstered by "break fee"

Shares of Ireland-headquartered Shire (LSE:SHP) gained 4.6% to £49.97, after the drugmaker reported pretax profit of $3.34 billion for full-year 2014, up from $1.69 billion in 2013, as revenue rose 23% to $5.83 billion, boosted by the $1.64 billion "break fee" from AbbVie, after the latter pulled out of its $54 billion acquisition.

The company posted non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) diluted earnings per American depositary share of $10.60 for 2014, up 39% from $7.66 in 2013, beating analysts’ expectations of non GAAP diluted earnings per ADS of 410.55.

Mick Cooper, analyst at Edison Investment Research, said: “Shire’s results underline the progress being made and strengths of the business, and also demonstrate why it remains such an attractive asset for potential suitors. The strong results are all the more remarkable given the distractions caused by the aborted acquisition by AbbVie.”