UCB slips on revised financial guidance

Belgian drugmaker UCB (Euronext: UCB) was trading 3% lower on Friday afternoon as markets digests its acceptance of the need to revise its 2022 financial guidance to a more pessimistic outlook.

The company listed the impact of January’s $1.9 billion acquisition of US biotech Zogenix, the US Food and Drug Administration’s complete response letter for bimekizumab - triggering a later potential launch date in the USA - and the wider difficult economic situation as factors that are putting upward pressure on costs this year.

"We are very confident in our future launches and our strategic growth path ahead"UCB now expects revenues for 2022 to be between 5.3 billion euros ($5.6 billion) and 5.4 billion euros, with the company in fact increasing the bottom end of this estimate from its February prediction. But adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as a percentage of revenue is now expected to be in the range of 21% to 22%, where previously it was expected to be between 26% and 27%.