Gilead Sciences has announced a 22.9% increase in net income of $5.61bn for the financial year 2023 (FY 2023) against $4.56bn in FY22.

For the 12 months ended 31 December 2023, diluted earnings per share (EPS) for FY 2023 rose to $4.50 from $3.64 in FY 2022.

The increase was attributed to reduced intellectual property and research and development impairment expenses and unrealised losses on equity investments, as well as increased interest income.

The growth was partially offset by a rise in costs and operating expenses and lower Veklury sales.

Non-GAAP [generally accepted accounting principles] diluted EPS saw a decline to $6.72 in 2023 from $7.26 in the previous year.

The company again cited a rise in total costs and expenses, as well as reduced sales of Veklury, as the key contributing factors.

Total revenue for 2023 dipped slightly by 1% to $27.11bn, primarily due to a $1.7bn reduction in Veklury sales, which was offset by robust human immunodeficiency virus and oncology sales.

The company’s board of directors declared a cash dividend per share of $3.00 for FY 2023 compared with $2.92 per share for FY 2022.

Gilead chairman and CEO Daniel O’Day stated: “This was another strong year of revenue growth for Gilead’s base business, driven by both HIV and oncology.

 “The strength of the business provides a solid foundation as we enter a new catalyst-rich phase for the company. We are expecting several milestones in 2024, including updates on long-acting HIV prevention and treatment, cell therapy and Trodelvy.”

In Q4 2023, the company reported a net income of 1.41bn and revenue of $7.1bn against $1.63bn of net income and revenue of $7.38bn in Q4 2022.

For 2024, Gilead has set its diluted EPS forecast between $5.15 and $5.55, with non-GAAP diluted EPS estimated between $6.85 and $7.25.

The latest development comes after the company expanded an oncology partnership agreement with Arcus Biosciences and plans to make equity investment and board-level changes.

Gilead will invest $320m in Arcus common stock to expedite the growth of co-development programmes.