(Reuters) - Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc <HIK.L> raised full-year revenue forecasts for its generic drug business on Friday and said sales in its injectables unit would be near the high end of its previous outlook range buoyed by higher demand.
New generic drug launches have helped Hikma offset price erosion as drugmakers grapple with pressure in the United States, where the Trump administration is clamping down on high medicine costs. Hikma got more than 60% of its revenue from that market in 2018.
The company, which makes and markets a broad range of branded and non-branded generic drugs, said core earnings rose 14.3% to $288 million (£237.29 million) in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier.
Hikma said it now expects generics revenue to be in the range of $690 million to $720 million for the full year, compared to its earlier forecast of between $650 million to $700 million.
The company reported a surge in first-half core operating margin at the unit to 19.3%, compared to 9% a year earlier. However, it warned margins at the business would be "slightly lower" in the second-half, reflecting increased price erosion and higher legal and research and development (R&D) costs.
Revenue from injectables, Hikma's largest business, rose 4.3% in the first half of the year, boosting overall revenue to $1.05 billion. This was in line with analysts' average estimate, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
(Reporting by Justin George Varghese and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Rashmi Aich)
