AT&T (T) has released soft results for the first quarter of 2020, but nonetheless reassured investors that it has sufficient free cash flow to support its dividend payout. Shares fell 2% in Wednesday’s trading, bringing T’s year-to-date loss to 25%.Most notably, revenue declined 4.6% year-over-year, 2% worse than expected, mostly due to lower growth at WarnerMedia and Latin America. The company also posted EBITDA 1.7% below consensus, and EPS of $0.84 a penny below.Meanwhile capex of $4.97B came in 2.8% above consensus, while FCF of $3.90B was 24% below. However, AT&T did add 163,000 postpaid phone subscribers, doubling from 80,000 in the same period last year.“The COVID pandemic had a 5 cents per share impact on our first quarter,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO. “We have a strong cash position, a strong balance sheet, and our core businesses are solid and continue to generate good free cash flow —...
Underlying sales across Asia, the Middle East and Russia, fell 3.7%, as lockdowns in the quarter restricted restaurant visits and shopping in China and led to factory shutdowns that halted production in India. In Europe, Turkey and Latin America, Unilever's 3 billion euro ($3.2 billion) ice cream business was hit by national efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, deterring distributors in holiday destinations from buying stock. "Many of our classic out-of-home retailers like leisure sites, travel hubs, beaches and tourist destinations were closed," Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly said on a call....
Dubbed "DARE-19", AstraZeneca said on Thursday that the study will assess if Farxiga can reduce the risk of death from serious complications and organ failure in such patients. "AstraZeneca is committed to finding new solutions to fight COVID-19 by investigating the application of our new and existing medicines," Mene Pangalos, Executive VP of biopharmaceuticals at the company, said. While existing medications being trialled include cancer drugs and immunotherapies, some research shows that patients with existing heart conditions are at a high risk of developing COVID-19 complications, including heart failure....
Shares in biopharma Immunomedics (IMMU) soared 29% in Wednesday’s after-market trading following an early FDA approval for Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) in triple-negative breast cancer. The drug is approved for patients who have already received two other lines of therapy for metastatic disease.The decision had been expected on the PDUFA date of June 2nd, so the announcement took investors and analysts by surprise.Previously, in January 2019, IMMU received a CRL (complete response letter) from the FDA on its first filing attempt seeking accelerated approval for the drug.“The issues related to approvability in the CRL were exclusively focused on Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control matters and no new clinical or preclinical data need to be generated” said Michael Pehl, President and CEO of Immunomedics at the time.Following the latest news Piper Sandler’s Joseph Catanzaro bumped his IMMU price target up from $30 to $40 and reiterated his buy rating on the stock.Although the FDA approval includes a...
U.S. shale producers, refiners and pipeline companies are scrambling for cash and face likely restructuring as they struggle under heavy debt loads while engulfed in the worst crisis the oil industry has faced. Fuel demand has tumbled roughly 30% worldwide as the coronavirus pandemic destroys demand for transport, provoking a massive glut of oil that has hammered global prices and left energy companies with no choice but to pump hundreds of millions of barrels into storage. Just as demand plummeted, Saudi Arabia and Russia started an oil price war, and Riyadh flooded the market with even more crude....
(Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization said 83 coronavirus vaccines are in development globally, with six of them in human trials stage.President Donald Trump signed an order Wednesday temporarily curbing immigration to limit competition for jobs as the U.S. moves toward reopening the economy.China reported no deaths from coronavirus for an eighth straight day. South Korea said it will prepare for a second wave of virus infections. The country’s economy suffered its worst contraction since the global financial crisis.Singapore said it’s bracing for a sharper economic contraction this year.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: Cases top 2.6 million; deaths exceed 183,000Trump signs executive order to curb immigrationWHO says six vaccines in human trials stageChina reported no deaths for eight straight days$8 trillion in global fiscal stimulus still isn’t enoughEarth Day highlights link between climate change and coronavirusSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal...
