Xanax-maker Viatris beats quarterly profit, revenue estimates; shares rise

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Viatris VTRS.O beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, helped by demand for its products in China, sending its shares up nearly 5% in early trading.

The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company, formed by the merger of Mylan and Pfizer's PFE.N Upjohn business in 2020, has generic and key branded drugs in its portfolio, including erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, anti-anxiety medication Xanax, epilepsy treatment Lyrica and arthritis treatment Celebrex.

"We delivered a strong second quarter and continued to make meaningful progress against our key 2025 strategic priorities," said CEO Scott Smith.

Quarterly revenue fell 6% to $3.58 billion, but beat analysts' estimate of $3.47 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

This was impacted by the restriction placed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on imports of certain products made at Viatris' facility in Indore, India following violation of federal requirements.

The restriction "has resulted in a larger-than-anticipated impact and will take time to resolve," said J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott.

Excluding the impact, divestiture-adjusted operational total revenues increased 3% compared to the year-ago quarter, the company said.

Net sales in the company's generics segment was also impacted by the restrictions at the Indore facility and competition faced by asthma treatment Wixela.

The company reported an adjusted profit of 62 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with expectations of 56 cents.

It reaffirmed its annual profit forecast to be in the range of $2.16 to $2.30 per share. Analysts expect a 2025 profit of $2.21 per share.