Nov 6 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) reported

third-quarter financial results that handily beat Wall Street

expectations on Wednesday as sales climbed 7%, leading the

drugmaker to raise its outlook for full-year earnings.

The Foster City, California-based company posted an adjusted

quarterly profit of $2.02 per share on revenue of $7.5 billion,

ahead of average analyst estimates of $1.55 per share and $7

billion, according to LSEG data.

Due to "the strength of our overall business model ... we're

increasing our 2024 guidance across every metric," Gilead Chief

Executive Officer Daniel O'Day told Reuters.

Gilead said net earnings for the quarter fell to $1.00 per

share, from $1.73 a year earlier, due in part to a $1.75 billion

impairment charge related to its 2020 acquisition of cancer drug

developer Immunomedics.

Third-quarter sales of HIV drug Biktarvy rose 13% to $3.5

billion while sales of COVID-19 treatment Veklury rose 9% to

$692 million.

Oncology sales were up 6% to $816 million, while liver

disease drugs brought in $733 million, up 4% from a year ago.

For full-year 2024, Gilead raised its product sales forecast

to a range of $27.8 billion to $28.1 billion from a previous

view of $27.1 billion to $27.5 billion. The company now expects

an adjusted profit of $4.25 to $4.45 per share, up from $3.60 to

$3.90.

Analysts have projected full-year earnings of $3.81 per

share on revenue of $27.72 billion.