Alcon (NYSE:ALC) shares took a hit today after the former Novartis (NYSE:NVS) vision care business posted second-quarter earnings that missed the consensus forecast, despite a healthy top-line beat.
Geneva-based Alcon, which Novartis spun into a public company in April, reported a swing to Q2 red with losses of -$390.0 million, or -80¢ per share, on sales growth of 4.6% to $1.90 billion compared with Q2 2018. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 47¢, a penny shy of the consensus on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $1.79 billion.
“Our second-quarter results demonstrate that we are solidly executing our growth drivers while successfully standing Alcon up as an independent company,” CEO David Endicott said in prepared remarks. “We maintained strong surgical performance, driven by new product innovation in both implantables and consumables and demand for surgical equipment. We also delivered improvements in vision care, driven by double digit growth of our Dailies Total1 globally, as well as solid sales execution in the U.S.
“Precision1, our newest daily SiHy lens, is expected to broaden our contact lens portfolio and enhance our competitive offerings. We’re investing in a critical manufacturing platform that we believe will deliver one of our most exciting U.S. launches and position our business for continued growth and expansion,” Endicott said.
Alcon said it still expects to post constant-currency sales growth of 3% to 5% this year.
ALC shares were down -3.2% to $60.40 apiece today in mid-morning trading.
