Hikma shares plunge as injectables growth slows

London-listed drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON: HIK) closed Friday’s trading 7% lower after presenting its financial results for the first half of 2021.

Core revenues were up 7% at $1.22 billion and core operating profit was 15% higher at $309 million, but Shares Magazine’s Martin Gamble reasoned that investors were perhaps more concerned with the group’s injectables division’s modest growth in comparison to the exceptionally strong first half of 2020, when the division benefited from COVID-19-related stocking from hospitals.

The generics unit impressive revenues growth of 8% to $400 million, driven by four new product launches from the research and development pipeline, including April’s important launch of a copy of GlaxoSmithKline’s (LSE: GSK) asthma blockbuster Advair Diskus. Hikma says that it is pleased with early sales of its version.