April 25 (Reuters) - West Pharmaceutical Services ( WST )

on Thursday beat quarterly profit estimates and raised

its annual profit forecast, banking on rising demand for

cartridges and syringes used to manufacture injectable

therapies.

The Pennsylvania-based company now expects 2024 profit in

the range of $7.63 to $7.88 per share, compared with its

previous forecast of $7.50 to $7.75 per share. Analysts had

expected $7.62-per-share profit for 2024.

The company expects sales growth to ramp up as the year

progresses, partly due to a surge in demand for components used

in the packaging of newer treatments, including Novo Nordisk's

diabetes drug Ozempic, weight-loss drug Wegovy, and

Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) diabetes drug Mounjaro.

West reiterated its full-year revenue outlook of $3 billion

to $3.025 billion.

CEO Eric Green said that he expects a majority of sales

growth to take place in the second half, as biotech clients work

through their existing inventory.

"We are actively managing the timing of inventory decisions

by some of our customers.." said Green.

On an adjusted basis, the company posted a first-quarter

profit of $1.56 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $1.27

per share, according to LSEG data.

The proprietary products unit, through which West offers

packaging products like stoppers, seals, syringes and cartridges

for injectable drugs, makes up more than half of the company's

total revenues.

Revenue for the segment declined by 4% to $559.5 million for

the quarter but still came in ahead of analysts' estimates of

$529.6 million.