Crucell N.V.

Crucell N.V (CRXL) has reported another earnings surprise that crushed Wall Street estimates. The company has also received approval from Chinese authorities and has doubled the production of one of its leading vaccinations.

Company Description

Crucell N.V. discovers, develops, and produces a variety of biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of human diseases. Unlike the technologies generally employed in the biopharmaceutical industry, the company's technologies are fully-human and, as such, enable biopharmaceuticals to be developed and produced that do not have the limitations inherent in many biopharmaceuticals currently available.

Turned the Corner

Crucell announced its fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2008 that included net profit of 14.6 million Euros, up from a loss of 42.9 billion Euros. Earnings per share came out to 38 cents, blowing away Wall Street estimates of just 8 cents.

Revenues spiked 33% during the year, up to 283 million Euros. Margins also improved as the gross margin was 45% up from 34% last year.

Doubled Production

Crucell announced that has increased production of Quinvaxem by more than 100%. The children's vaccine and Hepavax-Gene are expected to bring in nearly $0.5 billion through 2009. China has also approved Hepavax-Gene for use in private Chinese markets.

Forecasts Double

Following the earnings announcement analysts have doubled estimates for 2009 and 2010. The consensus for 2009 is currently 80 cents, up from 41 cents one month ago. Estimates for next year is $1.14, well above the 53 cents originally predicted.

These estimates are projecting more than 250% growth this year and another 43% in 2010.

The Chart

Shares of Crucell have been on a nice run since mid-2008. The company has beat analyst forecasts in the past 4 earnings announcement. Take a look at the chart below.

Read the full analyst report on CRXL