Perrigo sees sales increase in Q4, full-year 2021

Private label self-care and over-the-counter medicine producer Perrigo has released its financial numbers from Q4 2021 along with the full fiscal year. Both periods saw net sales grow, after the company said a mild cold season and supply challenges impacted Q3 2021.

"In the face of another year of unprecedented pandemic-related challenges, the Perrigo team achieved the  company's three primary strategic objectives - divesting the generic RX business, reallocating the sale proceeds to acquire a star consumer self-care asset in HRA Pharma, and significantly reducing uncertainty by favorably settling the Irish Tax assessment,” said Perrigo president and CEO Murray S. Kessler. “Perrigo's transformation into a focused, consumer-centric self-care company is now complete and our focus going forward is on long-term, profitable growth."

Perrigo net sales for Q4 2021, were $1.1 billion, an increase of $52 million, or 4.9% from 2020. Acquisitions accounted for 0.2 percentage points of growth, while unfavorable currency movements offset growth by 0.8 percentage points. Organic net sales growth was 5.5%. 

Q4 2021 reported operating income was $47 million in 2021 compared to $38 million in 2020. Adjusted operating income increased $15 million, or 12.5%, to $132 million in 2021. This increase was driven by higher profit from new products, and lower operating expenses, including planned lower advertising & promotion investments, and Project Momentum cost savings. Upper respiratory, pain and sleep-aids, nutrition, and vitamins categories saw sales increases, while skincare and healthy lifestyle products saw sales decline.

For the full fiscal 2021, net sales for the fiscal year were $4.1 billion, an increase of $51 million, or 1.2% from 2020. Operating income increased $145 million to $410 million, compared to $265 million in 2020. Adjusted operating income decreased $61 million to $479 million in 2021, a decrease driven by lower operating efficiency, including lower volumes and a decline in cough/cold sales.

"We are also entering 2022 with a higher level of cost inflation and COVID-19 related productivity challenges, which negatively impacted our second half 2021 gross margin,” said Kessler. “We expect to overcome these headwinds in the second half of 2022, driven in part by increased pricing, higher volumes and productivity gains. Our guidance reflects strong topline growth and depressed margins in the first half of 2022, anticipating that as gross margin pressure eases and as the highly accretive acquisition of HRA closes by mid-year, Perrigo is poised for turbocharged sales and earnings growth."