Feb 26 (Reuters) – British generic drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals forecast slower annual revenue growth and profit on Thursday, falling short of expectations because of challenges in its injectables business, sending shares down 15% to more than three-year lows.
Hikma also withdrew its medium-term targets and said CEO Said Darwazah would step down as executive chair to focus on a strategic turnaround. He took up the dual role in December.
“I believe our 2026 guidance does reflect the realistic picture of what we can achieve this year,” Darwazah told Reuters in an interview.
The update follows a bruising period of an industry-wide squeeze on generic medicine margins that shows little sign of easing. It comes as the company has grappled with manufacturing delays at its new U.S. factory in Bedford, Ohio.
Hikma said it expects Bedford to start full commercial production in 2028.
Hikma’s shares fell to their lowest since November 2022 in early trade, after giving up more than a fifth of their value last year.
GAPS TO FILL IN SALES AND MARKETING TEAMS
The firm forecast core operating profit of between $720 million and $770 million for 2026, below a company-compiled consensus estimate of $784 million. Revenue growth this year is expected to be between 2% and 4%, down from 7% in 2025.
Hikma expects revenue from its injectables business to grow in the low single digits, compared with analysts’ expectations of high single-digit growth.
Delays in some product launches and a decision by one of its key customers to have domestic manufacturing in the United States weighed on guidance, CFO Khalid Nabilsi told Reuters.
Nabilsi will take on a new role of Deputy CEO, North America and Europe and step down as CFO, among other management changes.
“We identified over the past two months gaps in sales and marketing teams which we need to fill,” Nabilsi said.
Hikma’s core profit fell 6% in the year ended December 31, 2025. Margins contracted to 31% for 2025 from 35.3% in 2024, and are expected to shrink further this year, to between 27% and 28%.
This month, Brookfield Private Capital ruled out making an offer for Hikma.
(Reporting by Sri Hari N S in Bengaluru and Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Clarence Fernandez)
Comments