Perrigo Company (Nasdaq:PRGO; TASE:PRGO)today announced results for its fiscal second quarter of 2008, which ended December 31, 2007.
Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 reached a record $435.5 million, an increase of $64.9 million, or 17%, compared with $370.6 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. Net profit was $34.3 million, or $0.36 per share, compared with $21.1 million, or $0.23 per share in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, which included expense for a product recall of $3.2 million after-tax, or $0.03 per share, and a restructuring charge of $417,000 after-tax, or less than $0.01 per share.
Perrigo Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa stated, "Record sales were achieved through double digit sales growth in each of our business segments. These improvements, along with continued focus on working capital, generated $67 million in cash flow from operations, up $43 million from last year. These results also come before the largest new product launch in our history, Omeprazole, which we expect to start shipping by the end of our third fiscal quarter."
Perrigo also increased full year guidance and now anticipates adjusted earnings per share for the full fiscal year in the range of $1.50 to $1.60 per share, up 69 to 80% from last year. This increase from previous guidance reflects the continued strong performance of Perrigo's existing portfolio and additional volume gains as a result of ongoing quality issues at a competitor. The company expects to generate cash from operations in the range of $180 million to $200 million.
On December 28, 2007, Perrigo announced it received final approval from the FDA for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for non-prescription Cetirizine Hydrochloride Tablets, in 5 and 10 mg dosages. The product will be marketed under store brand labels and is comparable to McNeil Consumer Healthcare's Zyrtec Tablets. Store brand shipments began in January.
The company listed revenue by segment, with the consumer healthcare segment net sales in the quarter reaching a record $320.2 million, up 16%, compared with $275.9 million a year ago. The sales increase resulted from $9.9 million in new product revenue; strong sales in the smoking cessation, analgesics and cough/cold product categories and increases in non-U.S. businesses.
The prescription pharmaceuticals segment reported sales of $38.7 million, including $5 million of service and royalty revenue, an increase of $10.4 million, or 37%, compared with $28.3 million a year ago.
API segment sales were $34.6 million, up 21% from $28.6 million recorded a year ago.
Shares in Perrigo are up 1.3% in Nasdaq trading to $32.50, reflecting a market cap of slightly over $3 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 5, 2008
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