Astellas Pharma Inc.

FY2024 revenue was ¥1.912 trillion, up 19.2% year over year, and core operating profit was ¥392.4 billion, up 41.7%. Reported profit was ¥41 billion, up 68.8% year over year, and profit was ¥50.7 billion, up 197.7% year over year, with FX adding ¥68.1 billion to revenue and ¥15.1 billion to core operating profit. Core operating profit margin improved 3.3 percentage points to 20.5%, and Strategic Brands sales rose about ¥180 billion year over year to more than ¥340 billion in total. Within Strategic Brands, PADCEV sales were ¥164.1 billion (+92%), IZERVAY ¥58.3 billion, VEOZAH ¥33.8 billion, VYLOY ¥12.2 billion, XOSPATA ¥68 billion (+23%), and XTANDI ¥912.3 billion (+22%). For FY2025, Astellas guided revenue to ¥1.930 trillion, underlying revenue to ¥2.036 trillion (+7%), SG&A to ¥805 billion, SG&A excluding U.S. co-promotion fees to ¥576 billion, core operating profit to ¥410 billion (+11% underlying), and dividend per share to ¥78 (+¥4). Strategic Brands sales are expected to reach ¥470 billion, with PADCEV at ¥200 billion, IZERVAY at ¥105 billion, VEOZAH at ¥50 billion, VYLOY at ¥40 billion, XOSPATA at ¥75 billion, and XTANDI at ¥868 billion.

Okamura said FY2024 marked record revenue and profit, driven by strong Strategic Brands growth and SMT-driven discipline in costs. He framed FY2025 as a year of continued expansion in those brands, a move toward full-scale profit contribution, and further pipeline value creation. His tone was confident but practical, repeatedly emphasizing uncertainty around tariffs, capital allocation constraints after the Iveric Bio deal, and the need to prepare the balance sheet for future opportunities.

Kitamura highlighted that FY2024 SG&A optimization and lower leverage were key financial achievements. He pointed to leverage improving from 3.4x at the end of FY2023 to 2.2x at the end of FY2024, saying balance-sheet strengthening is a priority so the company can act on future deals if needed. He also noted FY2025 includes about ¥110 billion of other expenses, with about ¥60 billion tied to impairment risk and the remaining ¥50 billion undisclosed, while SMT benefits should continue to build over time.

Analysts focused on the tariff assumptions in guidance, IZERVAY’s recovery after the CRL, XTANDI’s U.S. volume and Medicare redesign impact, capital allocation, and the pace/size of future business development. Management said tariff impacts were included only as a rough, uncertain estimate and would not be broken out in detail; for IZERVAY, they said new-patient capture fell from about 60% to 52% during the CRL period but had recovered to 59% by the latest data, with management expecting continued market leadership and more market expansion. For XTANDI, management said U.S. volume should grow in the mid-teens in FY2025 even as gross-to-net pressure from IRA/Medicare redesign weighs on net sales. On capital allocation, Okamura said the policy is unchanged: prioritize growth investments, then shareholder returns, and only then buybacks if excess cash remains, while also strengthening the balance sheet after Iveric Bio.