Orion upgrades full-year 2020 financial outlook
Finnish pharmaceutical company Orion has raised its full-year guidance for 2020, citing stronger-than-expected sales of Dexdor and lower operating expenses. The company now expects results to exceed 2019 levels.
Orion has upwardly revised its full-year financial outlook for 2020, adjusting expectations for both net sales and operating profit. The company now estimates that full-year net sales will match or slightly exceed the 2019 figure of EUR 1,051 million, while operating profit is projected to be higher or significantly higher than the EUR 253 million recorded in 2019.
The revised forecast is attributed to higher international sales of the sedative Dexdor, which experienced increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the company noted that while the initial pandemic-related demand spike for generic prescription drugs leveled off, overall sales for certain products remained robust. Orion also cited lower-than-anticipated operating expenses as a significant contributor to the improved profit outlook.
This outlook remains contingent upon the company's ability to maintain standard production operations through the end of the year. This requires continued stability in workforce availability, a consistent supply of raw materials, and functional global logistics chains. Preliminary figures for the first nine months of 2020 show net sales of EUR 823 million and an operating profit of EUR 246 million.