West Pharmaceutical's Q3 Performance Shows Rising Demand For Syringes, Company Boosts Annual Forecast And Dividend

On Thursday, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. WST reported adjusted EPS of $1.85, down from $2.16 a year ago, beating the consensus of $1.50.

The designer and manufacturer of injectable pharmaceutical packaging and delivery systems reported sales of $746.9 million, beating the consensus of $709.62 million.

The Proprietary Products Segment’s sales declined by 0.2% to $601.4 million, and the organic net sales decline was 0.5%.

High-value products (components and devices) represented over 75% of segment net sales in the period, led by customer demand for self-injection device platforms.

Sales in the Contract-Manufactured Products Segment grew marginally by 0.4% to $145.5 million. Organic net sales were consistent with the third quarter of last year.

Segment performance was driven by growth in self-injection devices for obesity and diabetes, offset by a decrease in sales of healthcare diagnostic devices.

Eric M. Green, President, CEO, and Chair of the Board, commented, “We are pleased to report solid third-quarter results…This reinforces my confidence in West’s execution capabilities as we continue to deliver our proven market-led strategy and attractive long-term potential.”

Dividend: West Pharmaceutical approved the fourth quarter 2024 dividend of $0.21/share, up 5% from the $0.20/share paid in the four preceding quarters. The dividend will be paid on November 20 to shareholders of record as of November 13.

Guidance: West Pharmaceutical Services raised its fiscal year 2024 guidance on favorable currency movements.

The company expects 2024 adjusted EPS guidance of $6.55-$6.75 compared to prior guidance of $6.35-$6.65 and consensus of $6.51.

West Pharmaceutical Services forecasts 2024 sales of $2.875 billion-$2.905 billion compared to prior guidance of $2.87 billion-$2.9 billion and a consensus of $2.874 billion.

Price Action: At the last check on Thursday, WST stock was up 17.60% at $337.

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