Genzyme misses 4Q target
Drugmaker cites strong kidney drug sales but sees '02 sales of flagship drug flat.
March 7, 2002: 1:06 p.m. ET
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Genzyme Corp.'s Genzyme General missed Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings expectations by a penny Thursday despite strong revenue growth for its kidney dialysis drug.
Genzyme General (GENZ: up $0.71 to $44.99, Research, Estimates) reported net income of $63.3 million, up from $58.3 million in the year ago period.
Fourth-quarter earnings per share before amortization and special items and adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split were 29 cents, down from 31 cents in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose 31 percent from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000 to $265.2 million.
Analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting the company to earn 30 cents per share, with revenue of about $297 million.
Sales of dialysis drug Renagel more than doubled to $55.6 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $23.9 million in the year-ago period.
But Genzyme General said that 2002 sales of its flagship Cerezyme enzyme replacement drug should be virtually flat with last year.
Officials of the Cambridge, Mass.-based company told analysts in a conference call that they expect the drug to generate sales of $580 million-to-$600 million, barely above the $570 million level notched in 2001.
The firm said sales of the medicine, used to treat patients with a rare ailment called Type 1 Gaucher disease, will not increase much because it is a "mature" drug, meaning it has been on the market for years and many patients that need it are already taking the medicine.
Genzyme General said it still expects 2002 earnings per share at the "high end" of analyst forecasts of $1.40-to-$1.46. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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