By Michael Elkins
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, eye-care company Bausch + Lomb Corp (NYSE:BLCO) is expected to name Brent Saunders as chief executive officer and chairman of its board. The story, citing people familiar with the matter, reports that Mr. Saunders will succeed Joseph Papa, who had said last July that he would step down from his roles running the company and serving on its board.
Under the plans, Mr. Saunders would take the helm of the company on March 6, after serving in an advisory role starting Thursday to help with the transition. This will be Saunders’s second term leading the company. He previously led Bausch + Lomb from 2010 to 2013 before its sale to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:BHC).
RBC Capital Markets reiterated their Outperform rating on the company and raised the price target to $20.00 (from $17.00). BLCO will report Q4/22 results on February 22nd, before the market opens. RBC estimates that the company will report Q4/22 revenue of $973 million (cons. $967M) and adjusted EBITDA of $195M (cons. $198M).
Analysts there wrote in a note, “Although we expect FX headwinds in Q4 to be lower than previously anticipated, they will likely be offset by China-related factors where the lifting of zero-COVID policy resulted in increased cases and hospitalizations. We have revised our FY23 estimates higher based on current FX rates.”
They expect the company to introduce 2023 guidance for BLCO on the quarterly investor call and will look for commentary on drivers of margin expansion and challenges from inflation and economic slowdown.
RBC forecasts 2023 revenues of $3.90B (+4.1% y/y) and adjusted EBITDA of $763M (19.6% margin). FY23 consensus revenue and adjusted EBITDA are $3.83B (+2.5% y/y) and $762M (19.9% margin), respectively.
Shares of BLCO are up 9.01% in mid-day trading on Wednesday.