Analysts have responded to the publication of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) publication of its financial report for the third quarter and the announcement that CFO Dan Suesskind is retiring from the company. The analysts yawned at the company’s results, and were even more blase about Suesskind.
Citigroup analyst Andrew Swanson notes that Teva’s earnings per share of $0.64 were above its forecast of $0.63. It adds, “The results are likely to be overshadowed by the departure of Dan Suesskind, who has overseen a nearly 1000-fold increase in Teva’s market cap over his 30 year tenure as CFO. The timing of the departure comes as no surprise, and we do not view the resignation as a sign of weaker results to come in 2008; we would be buyers on any weakness.”
IBI Investment House analyst Noa Weissberg told “Globes”, “Dan Suesskind, the CFO for the past 30 years, has announced his retirement. The departure was expected, but it will be hard to replace him.” As for Teva’s financials, she said, “All in all, these were reasonable financials. Sales were a bit lower than estimates, and underscore the power of exclusive marketing launches. Growth in North America is a little worrying, since after 24% growth by Copaxone and 34% growth by inhalants, North American sales rose by just 4%. Double-digit growth continued in Europe and the rest of the world, and Teva is maintaining very strong profit margins.”
Leader Capital Markets analyst Yoav Burgan says, “Unquestionably, this time, Teva’s financial report came out under the shadow of the announcement of a change in the CFO. As has been expected for a long time, the esteemed veteran Dan Suesskind, who is so identified with Teva, is retiring and will be replaced in mid-2008 by Eyal Desheh, the CFO of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP). We strongly believe in Desheh’s abilities and many years experience as CFO of a multinational company like Check Point and Scitex, and we believe that his strong knowledge about all matters relating to investors and managing capital market expectations will greatly contribute to the strength of Teva’s share in the future.”
Burgan noted Teva’s disappointing revenue for the third quarter, but added, “Despite the minor disappointment about the revenue, the company’s gross profit margin of 52.8% is far above forecasts.”
Clal Finance Batucha analyst Yisca Erez has taken a neutral stance. She says, “The results were good with no surprises either way.” She also says that Suesskind’s retirement was expected, but she was surprised by Desheh’s appointment. “Teva has strengthened its financial staff in recent years, so the appointment of someone from outside is definitely unexpected,” she said.
All three Israeli analysts said that Teva’s results were “boring” and they hope that the company would provide more details, especially regarding its guidance for 2008-09 at the upcoming conference call.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 30, 2007
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