April 23 (Reuters) – Hikma Pharmaceuticals reiterated its 2026 guidance on Thursday, adding that while it has faced some pressure on shipping, energy, and insurance costs due to the Middle East war, it was confident it could absorb the higher expenses.
The British drugmaker said it had a robust start to the year, driven by strong demand for its existing offerings and new launches in major markets, including the United States, France, and Germany.
The update is a win for CEO Said Darwazah and provides some relief for investors worried over Hikma’s recovery after persistent weakness in Hikma’s injectables unit and delays at a key U.S. manufacturing site in Ohio forced the drugmaker to scrap its medium‑term targets in February.
Hikma said that demand in the Middle East, a key market for the firm, was “robust,” and that it continues to maintain sufficient inventory levels to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions from the Iran war.
Hikma sells its own-branded generics and licensed products across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which account for about a third of its core revenue and form the company’s second-biggest market after North America. Its operations span over a dozen countries in MENA, including Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Hikma continues to expect group revenue to grow in the range of 2% to 4% and operating profit to be in the range of $720 million to $770 million for the year ending December 2026, with revenue growth of low single digits in the biggest injectables business.
The company also said that it was closing down its 503B compounding business to focus on core operations. In the U.S., 503B compounding businesses manufacture bulk medicines for hospitals and clinics, not for individual patients, under the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight.
(Reporting by Neeshita Beura and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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