Raises FY 2007 EPS Guidance Range to $2.79-$2.84
NEW YORK, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Forest Laboratories, Inc.
(NYSE: FRX), a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, today announced that
fully diluted earnings per share equaled $0.78 in the third quarter of
fiscal 2007, an increase of 37% over last year's third quarter's fully
diluted earnings per share of $0.57. Reported earnings included a
$10,200,000 million charge for stock option expense in accordance with the
adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 123R as well as a
$20,000,000 product development milestone payment.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGO )
Revenues for the quarter increased 18% to $893,031,000 from
$757,830,000 in the year-ago period.
Revenues were comprised of net sales of $830,431,000, an increase of
16% from $714,887,000 in the year-ago period, earnings contribution of
$38,664,000 from the co-promotion of Benicar(R)* (olmesartan medoxomil) and
Benicar HCT(R), antihypertensive therapies, which increased 37% from
$28,290,000 in the year-ago quarter, interest income of $22,577,000 which
increased 59% from $14,229,000 in the year-ago period and other contract
and miscellaneous income of $1,359,000.
Sales in the quarter included $554,964,000 for Forest's antidepressant
franchise which was comprised of $545,855,000 of Lexapro(R) (escitalopram
oxalate), an SSRI indicated for the initial and maintenance treatment of
major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in adults,
$7,928,000 of Celexa(R) (citalopram HBr), an antidepressant, and $1,181,000
of generic citalopram. The year-ago period included $485,687,000 of
antidepressant franchise sales which was comprised of $480,707,000 of
Lexapro, $4,823,000 of branded Celexa and $157,000 of generic citalopram.
Sales of Namenda(R), an NMDA receptor antagonist for the treatment of
moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease, totaled $173,881,000 in the
quarter compared to sales of $124,022,000 in last year's third quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 7% to
$268,626,000. Research and development spending increased 19% to
$112,029,000 during the quarter and included a one-time product development
milestone payment of $20,000,000.
Net income in the current quarter increased by 28% to $250,301,000 as
compared to $195,163,000 reported in the third quarter of the prior year.
Fully diluted shares outstanding for the third quarter were
320,363,000, a reduction of 20,300,000 shares due mainly to the Company's
share repurchase program. During the quarter the Company purchased
1,290,000 shares under its current 25 million share authorization and has
an additional 14,684,700 shares available for repurchase under the program,
which has no expiration date.
Nine-month results
Revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2006 increased 16% to
$2,556,344,000 from $2,206,068,000 in the prior year.
Net income for the nine months ended December 31, 2006 increased 12% to
$692,019,000 from net income of $616,624,000 reported in the nine months of
the prior year. Diluted earnings per share increased 20% to $2.14 in the
current year's first nine months as compared to diluted earnings per share
of $1.79 for last year's nine months.
Fiscal 2007 Guidance
Based on the stronger-than-projected performance of our promoted
products, the Company has increased its expectations for fully diluted
earning per share for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007 to $2.79-$2.84
from prior guidance of $2.60-$2.65 per share. The revised guidance excludes
the impact of the one-time in-process research and development charge
related to the acquisition of Cerexa, Inc. of approximately $494 million,
or approximately $1.54 per share. This charge will be recorded in the
fiscal fourth quarter and is subject to final purchase price valuation and
allocation. The revised estimate of per share effect of the charge
recognizes that there is no deferred tax benefit to be reflected. In
addition, the revised earnings per share guidance does include planned
research and development expenses associated with Cerexa related product
development programs.
Howard Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Forest, said:
"We are encouraged by both the performance of our key marketed products and
by the opportunities we currently have in our development pipeline as well
as the prospect to add future development programs. During the quarter we
announced the acquisition of Cerexa, Inc. Our acquisition of Cerexa
provides us with major opportunities in an entirely new therapeutic area,
the hospital injectable anti-infective market, which urgently needs
innovative drugs because of the persistent and inevitable development of
increased resistance to existing antibiotics. We believe Cerexa is an
outstanding company, with extraordinary leadership and scientists that we
expect will become a major source of growth for Forest. Cerexa's most
advanced product, ceftaroline, will shortly be commencing Phase III
studies.
"We remain strategically focused on both supporting continued growth of
our in-line products, which generate predictable and significant free cash
flow, as well as identifying promising development opportunities."
Forest will host a conference call at 10:00 AM EST today to discuss the
results. The conference call will be webcast live beginning at 10:00 AM EST
on the Company's website at http://www.frx.com and also on the website
http://www.streetevents.com. Please log on to either website at least fifteen
minutes prior to the conference call as it may be necessary to download
software to access the call. A replay of the conference call will be
available until January 31, 2007 at both websites and also by dialing
1-800-642-1687 (US investors) or +1-706-645-9291 (international investors)
passcode 5744720.
About Forest Laboratories and Its Products
Forest Laboratories (http://www.frx.com) is a U.S.-based pharmaceutical
company dedicated to identifying, developing, and delivering products that
make a positive difference in peoples' lives. Forest Laboratories' growing
product line includes Lexapro(R) (escitalopram oxalate), an SSRI indicated
for adults for the initial and maintenance treatment of major depressive
disorder and for generalized anxiety disorder; Namenda(R) (memantine HCl),
an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor antagonist indicated for the
treatment of moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease; Benicar(R)*
(olmesartan medoxomil), an angiotensin receptor blocker, and Benicar*
HCT(R) (olmesartan medoxomil-hydrochlorothiazide), an angiotensin receptor
blocker and diuretic combination product, each indicated for the treatment
of hypertension; and Campral(R)* (acamprosate calcium), indicated in
combination with psychosocial support for the maintenance of abstinence
from alcohol in patients with alcohol dependence who are abstinent at
treatment initiation.
* Benicar is a registered trademark of Daiichi Sankyo, and Campral is a
registered trademark of Merck Sante s.a.s., subsidiary of Merck KGaA,
Darmstadt, Germany.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this release
contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks
and uncertainties, including the difficulty of predicting FDA approvals,
acceptance and demand for new pharmaceutical products, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, the timely development and launch of new
products and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC
reports, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2006 and on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30,
2006.
FOREST LABORATORIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Unaudited)
THREE MONTHS NINE MONTHS
ENDED DECEMBER 31 ENDED DECEMBER 31
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
2006 2005 2006 2005
Revenues:
Net sales $830,431 $714,887 $2,367,875 $2,081,173
Contract revenue 38,914 28,373 130,485 86,945
Interest Income 22,577 14,229 56,330 38,241
Other income 1,109 341 1,654 (291)
Net revenues 893,031 757,830 2,556,344 2,206,068
Costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold 195,539 165,875 556,322 483,136
Selling, general and
administrative 268,626 250,725 772,017 772,435
Research and
development 112,029 94,188 344,863 216,054
576,194 510,788 1,673,202 1,471,625
Income before income
tax expense 316,837 247,042 883,142 734,443
Income tax expense 66,536 51,879 191,123 117,819
Net income $250,301 $195,163 $692,019 $616,624
Net income per share:
Basic $0.79 $0.58 $2.17 $1.81
Diluted $0.78 $0.57 $2.14 $1.79
Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding:
Basic 316,200 336,890 318,512 340,160
Diluted 320,363 340,663 323,048 344,801
SOURCE Forest Laboratories, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.frx.com
http://www.streetevents.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Charles E. Triano, Vice President - Investor
Relations, of Forest Laboratories, Inc., +1-212-224-6714,
charles.triano@frx.com
|
