Executive Summary

Strong finish to FY24: Q4 revenue rose 23% YoY to $1.30B, Adjusted EBITDA jumped 150% to $305M (23% margin), and GAAP EPS turned positive to $0.13; non‑COVID revenue grew ~29% YoY, underscoring core demand recovery .
Sequential momentum: Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded from 15.1% in Q3 to 23.0% in Q4 as Biologics profitability rebounded (segment EBITDA margin 22.4% vs. -5.3% LY), and Pharma & Consumer Health (PCH) sustained mid‑20s margins .
Balance sheet improved: Net leverage fell to 6.6x from 9.3x in March on LTM Adjusted EBITDA recovery to $703M and slightly lower net debt; first‑lien leverage at 3.0x remains comfortably below a 6.5x covenant .
No call or guidance: Due to the pending Novo Holdings acquisition, Catalent did not host an earnings call and is not providing guidance; near‑term stock narrative remains dominated by deal closure timing toward late 2024 .
Potential near‑term catalysts: Continued Biologics recovery, sustained new business wins, free cash flow generation, and progress toward transaction close are likely to drive sentiment more than formal guidance this quarter .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Non‑COVID core strength: Ex‑COVID revenue grew ~29% YoY in Q4, signaling underlying demand recovery apart from the COVID wind‑down .
Profitability inflection: Adjusted EBITDA rose to $305M (23% margin) vs. $163M in Q3 and $122M in Q4’23, with Biologics segment EBITDA margin improving to 22.4% from -5.3% YoY; PCH delivered 31.1% margin .
Management tone and execution: “Growing non‑COVID revenue by nearly 30% … exiting fiscal 2024 with company‑wide adjusted EBITDA margin closer to historical levels … record fourth quarter new business wins and generating positive free cash flow in excess of $100 million” .

What Went Wrong

COVID headwinds persisted earlier in FY24: Management continued to cite declining COVID‑related demand as a core pressure on year‑over‑year comparisons, particularly impactful in H1 FY24 .
Full‑year GAAP loss: FY24 net loss was $(1.04)B as goodwill impairments and earlier‑year operational headwinds weighed on results despite Q4 strength .
No guidance / limited disclosure cadence: With the pending transaction, Catalent did not provide forward guidance and did not host a conference call, reducing visibility and typical Q&A clarity for investors .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 FY2023	Q2 FY2024	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$1,055	$1,032	$1,074	$1,301
GAAP Diluted EPS	$(0.59)	$(1.12)	$(0.56)	$0.13
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$122	$124	$163	$305
Adjusted EBITDA Margin %	12%	12.0%	15.1%	23%
Adjusted Net Income ($M)	$1	$(43)	$(10)	$118
Adjusted Diluted EPS	$0.02	$(0.24)	$(0.06)	$0.65

Segment breakdown (Q4 FY2024):

Segment	Revenue ($M)	YoY	Segment EBITDA ($M)	YoY	EBITDA Margin
Biologics	$605	+51%	$136	n.m. from $(23)	22.4%
Pharma & Consumer Health	$697	+7%	$217	+22%	31.1%
Inter-segment Elim.	$(1)	+67%	—	—	—
Unallocated Costs	—	—	$(120)	+25%	—

KPIs and balance sheet:

KPI	Q3 FY2024	Q4 FY2024
LTM Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$520	$703
Net Debt ($B)	$4.82	$4.62
Net Debt / LTM Adj. EBITDA	9.3x	6.6x
First Lien Debt / LTM Adj. EBITDA	4.4x	3.0x
Cash & Cash Equivalents ($M)	$162	$289

Note: Management highlighted Q4 free cash flow generation “in excess of $100 million” (non‑GAAP detail noted qualitatively) .

Estimates vs. actuals:

S&P Global consensus estimates could not be retrieved via tool due to a mapping issue; therefore, we cannot present a vs‑consensus comparison this quarter. S&P Global consensus data unavailable via tool at time of analysis (GetEstimates error).

Guidance Changes

Catalent is not providing forward‑looking guidance due to the pending Novo Holdings transaction and did not host an earnings call.

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue	FY2025 / near term	Not provided	Not provided (no guidance)	Maintained “no guidance”
Adjusted EBITDA	FY2025 / near term	Not provided	Not provided (no guidance)	Maintained “no guidance”
EPS (GAAP / Adjusted)	FY2025 / near term	Not provided	Not provided (no guidance)	Maintained “no guidance”
Other (OpEx, OI&E, tax rate)	FY2025 / near term	Not provided	Not provided (no guidance)	Maintained “no guidance”

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

No earnings call or transcript this quarter given pending transaction. Thematic evolution below is based on company releases.

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q2 FY24, Q3 FY24)	Current Period (Q4 FY24)	Trend
Biologics operational recovery	Q2: Biologics pressured but sequential improvement; investments in operational improvements . Q3: Segment EBITDA margin improved to 10.6% with momentum .	Biologics revenue +51% YoY; segment EBITDA margin 22.4% (from -5.3% LY) .	Improving
Non‑COVID growth	Q2: Ex‑COVID revenue +8% YoY . Q3: Double‑digit non‑COVID YoY growth; record Q3 non‑COVID wins .	Ex‑COVID revenue +~29% YoY; record Q4 new business wins .	Strengthening
COVID wind‑down	Q2: Material headwind vs. prior year . Q3: Less prominent in commentary .	Ex‑COVID backdrop emphasized; COVID impact shrinking in mix .	Fading headwind
Profitability/margins	Q2: Adj. EBITDA margin 12.0% . Q3: 15.1% .	23% in Q4; “closer to historical levels” .	Improving
Leverage/liquidity	Q2: Net leverage 10.3x; raised $600M term loan; ~$1.3B liquidity . Q3: Net leverage 9.3x; ~$1.3B liquidity .	Net leverage 6.6x; First Lien 3.0x .	Improving
Transaction with Novo Holdings	Q2: Announced; no guidance/call . Q3: Pending; no guidance/call .	Expected close toward late 2024; no guidance/call .	Ongoing

Management Commentary

“Growing non‑COVID revenue by nearly 30% in the fourth quarter and … exiting fiscal 2024 with company‑wide adjusted EBITDA margin closer to historical levels. These strong results were achieved while also delivering record fourth quarter new business wins and generating positive free cash flow in excess of $100 million” — Alessandro Maselli, CEO .
“As Catalent steadily progresses towards becoming a privately held company, we remain focused on serving our valued customers and positioning the Company to best leverage the expanded resources that Novo Holdings … will provide” .
Prior quarter tone (Q3): “Returned to growth … continued momentum in both the Biologics segment and the Pharma and Consumer Health segment … record third quarter non‑COVID customer wins” — CEO .

Q&A Highlights

No earnings call or Q&A session was held due to the pending Novo Holdings transaction; management did not provide forward guidance and did not take analyst questions .

Estimates Context

S&P Global consensus estimates were not available via the tool due to a mapping issue for CTLT at the time of analysis, so we cannot present a vs‑consensus comparison this quarter. S&P Global consensus data unavailable via tool (GetEstimates error).

Key Takeaways for Investors

Q4 marked a clear inflection: revenue +23% YoY and Adjusted EBITDA +150% YoY to $305M (23% margin), driven by strong Biologics recovery and steady PCH execution .
Structural mix shift: Non‑COVID revenue growth (~29% YoY) and record new wins suggest the core CDMO franchise is re‑accelerating as COVID‑related headwinds fade .
Balance sheet de‑risking: LTM Adjusted EBITDA recovery to $703M and net leverage down to 6.6x enhances flexibility; first‑lien leverage at 3.0x is well within covenant headroom .
Limited disclosure cadence: With no guidance and no call, near‑term estimate precision is constrained; the deal close timing with Novo Holdings (targeted late 2024) is the primary stock narrative near term .
Watch Biologics execution: Sustaining >20% segment EBITDA margins post‑Q4 will be a key proof point for continued operating normalization .
Cash generation improving: Management highlighted >$100M positive free cash flow in Q4; sustaining FCF would further support deleveraging and investment capacity under private ownership .
Risk checks: Prior‑year impairments, site transformation costs, and earlier operational headwinds underscore the importance of continued execution discipline as the company transitions to private ownership .

Catalent, Inc. (CTLT)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary