UPDATE 3-AbbVie trims annual profit forecast after expected $2.7 billion R&D hit

(Updates shares in paragraph 12 and adds background in paragraph 11) Oct 3 (Reuters) – Drugmaker AbbVie said on Friday it has lowered its annual profit forecast, after flagging an expected $2.7 billion charge related to in-process research and development (IPR&D) expenses in the third quarter. The Chicago-based company said in a regulatory filing that such expenses may arise from collaborations, licensing deals or asset buys, but are not forecast due to uncertainty around timing and occurrence. It did not specify how the expense was incurred. Including the third-quarter charge, AbbVie now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share between $10.38 and $10.58, compared with the prior range of $11.88 to $12.08. Analysts were expecting full-year adjusted EPS to be $12.02, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company's previous forecast for full-year adjusted earnings, issued on July 31, excluded any IPR&D expenses beyond the second quarter, it said. AbbVie added that the results for the quarter ended Sept. 30 have not been finalized. "There can be no assurance that our final results will not differ from these preliminary estimates," the company said. It forecast third-quarter adjusted EPS in the range of $1.74 to $1.78, including the impact of the IPR&D expense, much lower than the analysts' estimate of $3.27. Separately, AbbVie said earlier this week it began building a $195 million manufacturing plant in North Chicago, Illinois, expected to produce immunology, oncology and neuroscience drugs and be fully operational by 2027. AbbVie has been leaning on newer immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to offset declining sales of its blockbuster arthritis treatment Humira, which began facing biosimilar competition in the U.S. in 2023. The company has spent more than $20 billion on acquisitions since then, and plans to spend another $10 billion on expansion in the country over the next decade. Its shares were down marginally in extended trade. (Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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