EU HEALTHCARE: Viatris (VTRS: Baa3/BBB- neg/BBB): Earnings Call
Feb-27 15:41
Expect Buy-Backs to support the share price
A lot of questions about the FDA letter regarding Indore facility in India
Management says that remediation is already half-way done
There was also an inspection in Australia (Carole Park) which has been resolved
Leverage: the company has now reached its target. Well done there, but it won't go any lower.
New Product revenue expected to be $450-$550m
Buybacks: with the share price so low there will be pressure to bring forward purchases. The company has said that it intends to allocate 50% of capital allocation to shareholders via dividends and buybacks.
VTRS will do a "minimum" of $500-$650m of buybacks this year
CEO: "We're prioritizing capital return in '25, and with a focus on share repurchases"
US DATA: Regional Fed Mfg Surveys Point To Sizeable ISM Mfg Upside Risk
Jan-28 15:37
The Richmond Fed manufacturing survey rounded out the five regional Fed reports for January, with the five on balance seeing a sequential improvement.
The Richmond mfg index beat expectations as it increased to -4 in Jan (cons -10) from -10 in Dec for a further improvement away from the low of -21 in September. It’s now the least negative since May.
New orders painted a broadly similar story, at -4 after -11 although that was its least negative since Oct 2023.
Looking more broadly, three of the five regional Fed indices saw improvements in January, whilst Kansas held steady for roughly a fourth consecutive month and Empire gave back some of its prior gains.
Philly clearly stood out though, surging from -10.9 to 44.3 for the highest since the 44.4 in Apr 2021 and before that 1984.
That biased the unweighted average of the five series firmly higher, rising from -3.9 to +7.4 for its first positive reading since May 2022.
Taken directly, it points to an ISM manufacturing reading comfortably in the 50s at would be a sizeable beat, currently expected at 48.9 in Jan after 49.2 (released next Monday). However, the localized nature of regional strength suggests caution is needed.
GILT AUCTION PREVIEW: On offer next week
Jan-28 15:33
The DMO has announced it will be looking forward to sell GBP4.25bln of the 4.375% Mar-30 Gilt (ISIN: GB00BSQNRD01) at its auction next Tuesday, February 4.
PIPELINE: Corporate Bond Issuance Update: $2B Arab Republic of Egypt 2Pt Launch