Chugai Earnings: Results in Line, Antibody Platform Underappreciated, Shares Undervalued

Narrow-moat Chugai’s first-quarter earnings were in line with expectations, with no change in full-year guidance. Revenue for the quarter was JPY 292 billion, which is nominally 13% lower than the same period last year, but 11% higher after excluding Ronapreve shipments and the JPY 91.9 billion lump-sum settlement from Alexion last year. This is on track with the company’s full-year guidance of JPY 1.1 trillion, which remains unchanged. We expect the lumpiness from COVID-19-related sales of Ronapreve and Actemra to be insignificant going forward.