Sanofi spinoff EuroAPI’s shares plunge on sales surprise

financialexpress.com:

EuroAPI, the pharma-ingredients firm spun off by Sanofi last year, plunged as much as 61% after cutting its guidance and saying it would embark on a strategic review.

The company trimmed its full-year outlook, citing lower sales volumes and less demand from biotech clients for drug development and manufacturing. It also suspended mid-term goals issued in March, which included annual sales growth of as much as 8%.

The statement marks the third profit warning since last year’s spinoff. Rival Lonza Group AG also cited biotech’s funding constraints when it cut its guidance in July.

“We expect investors to remain on the sidelines until they gain clarity over the mid-term targets, but perhaps even until EuroAPI has demonstrated the ability to deliver,” analysts including James Quigley at Morgan Stanley said in a note.

The stock fell as low as €4.7 in Paris trading, erasing over €700 million ($740 million) in market value. It traded above €12 when the shares were first listed on the Paris stock exchange last year.

“We are extremely surprised by such a significant revision at less than three months from the end of the year,” Oddo analysts said, citing the “lack of visibility” as a reason for downgrading the shares.

Sales will probably grow between 3% and 5% this year, down from an earlier estimate of as much as 8%, the company said in a statement late Monday.

EuroAPI plans to share the outcome of the strategic review by the end of February.

Sanofi still owns 30% of EuroAPI and the French state has a 12% stake, reflecting government efforts to bolster national sovereignty in areas ranging from pharmaceuticals to energy.