(Reuters) – Gilead Sciences Inc posted a 26% rise in quarterly revenue that topped Wall Street estimates on Thursday, helped by sales of its antiviral drug, remdesivir, which is authorized to treat COVID-19 patients across the world.
Remdesivir brought in $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, above analysts’ estimates of $1.34 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Shares of Gilead were up 2.5% in extended trading.
The company forecast fiscal 2021 results largely ahead of analyst expectations and raised its dividend by 4.4%.
Fourth-quarter revenue totaled $7.42 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $7.33 billion.
Gilead projected fiscal 2021 product sales of $23.7 billion to $25.1 billion, ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $24.27 billion in revenue, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
(Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Ramakrishnan M.)