Business

Elanco Animal Health Announces Prosperous Start to 2024 Amidst Financial Revisions

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) has released its financial disclosures for the first quarter of 2024. The company, a global entity in the animal health sector, reported its achievements, revising its full-year financial guidance in light of the first quarter's exceptional performance and the expected ongoing impact of foreign exchange rates. In doing so, Elanco not only showcased its financial robustness but also reaffirmed its dedication towards its innovative pursuits in animal health.

Strong First Quarter Performance

Elanco's opening quarter witnessed a revenue totaling $1,205 million, coupled with a reported net income of $32 million and an impressive adjusted net income of $167 million. This performance underscores the company's operational efficacy as it successfully navigates through the complexities of market demands and global economic conditions.

The company's Adjusted EBITDA stood at $294 million or 24.4% of the generated revenue, reflecting Elanco's adept cost management and profitability strategies. Not to be overlooked, the company's net leverage ratio was recorded at 6.1x Adjusted EBITDA.

Earnings per share (EPS) proved favorable, with reported EPS at $0.06 and an adjusted EPS reaching $0.34. A noteworthy aspect was the year-over-year growth rates that were significantly influenced by customer purchase behaviors, which shifted revenue from the second quarter of 2023 to the first quarter due to the ERP Blackout event of the previous year, resulting in a $90 to $110 million revenue transition.

Full Year Financial Outlook and Guidance Revisions

Elanco has made upward adjustments to its 2024 full-year financial guidance, now reflective of first-quarter outperformance and offset by anticipated unfavorable impacts of foreign exchange rate fluctuations:

• The new revenue expectations range from $4,460 to $4,515 million, marking constant currency growth improvement from 2% to 3%.
• Reported net loss is anticipated to be between $(3) to $(45) million, with an adjusted EBITDA prediction of $960 to $1,000 million and adjusted EPS hovering between $0.88 and $0.96.

Innovation as a Growth Catalyst

Elanco's unwavering commitment to innovation is evident in its research and development undertakings, boasting innovation revenue of $100 million in the first quarter. The firm predicts a surge for the full year, expecting $375 to $410 million from its innovative products.

New product offerings are the spearhead of Elanco's growth ambition, with Experior® and AdTab® leading the charge. These products propel the company's vision, ensuring that Elanco remains at the vanguard of animal health innovations.

Impressive Pipeline Culminating in Approvals and Expectations

Elanco's President and CEO, Jeff Simmons, emphasized the optimism surrounding their late-stage pipeline's significant progress and the anticipated approval timings of products Bovaer®, Zenrelia™, and Credelio Quattro™, which promise to deliver differentiated solutions to the market and boost revenue in the latter half of 2024.

Integration Efforts and Financial Results

Elanco successfully amalgamated the legacy Bayer Animal Health business into its system in April 2023. This integration heralded a shift in customer purchasing that was felt well into the first quarter of 2024, as indicated in the previous year's reports. The bearing of such a shift in timing was a telling influence on the company's reported growth rates.

Outstanding Performance across Product Segments

In the Pet Health sector, revenue reflected a 5% decrease on both reported and constant currency bases, with a marked increase from pricing, despite the estimated headwind from ERP Blackout. The performance was driven by new product sales, including AdTab, and improvements in supply for specific vaccines. The company managed to navigate challenges such as competitive pressures and a sluggish start of the U.S. OTC parasiticide season.

The Farm Animal segment also demonstrated resilience, recording revenue of $556 million, a 3% decrease on both reported and constant currency bases. Excluding the ERP Blackout factor, the segment thrived on the back of global poultry sales and sales of products like Experior.

Solid Growth and Fiscal Discipline

Simmons expressed pride in the 2024 first-quarter results. The improvements in operating cash flow, which neared a $150 million year-over-year increase, were attributed to the company's disciplined emphasis on optimizing net working capital and the advantages realized from completing the ERP system integration.

Providing Clarity on Future Outlook

The amended guidance for 2024 reflects Elanco's confidence in its operational performance. It maintains a stringent focus on innovation, expanded product offerings, and market presence as the foundational pillars for sustaining growth.

Moreover, Elanco envisions substantial debt reduction throughout 2024. The anticipated closure of the transaction related to the divestiture of the company's aqua business around mid-year could yield after-tax proceeds estimated between $1.05 to $1.1 billion, further strengthening its balance sheet.

For detailed information, interested parties can access the conference call and webcast information here.

About Elanco

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated has cemented its position as a globally recognized leader within the animal health domain, devoted to innovating, producing, and delivering products and services for preventing and treating diseases in farm animals and pets. The company's significant role in the industry has extended for nearly seven decades. It remains committed to its vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and supporting the health of animals, people, and the environment.

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For more information on Elanco's financial results and forward-looking statements, readers can refer to the detailed disclosures and reconciliations provided in the accompanying tables and visit Elanco's website at www.elanco.com.

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