NEW YORK, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Forest Laboratories,
Inc. (NYSE:FRX), a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, today
announced that fully diluted earnings per share equaled $0.96 in
the third quarter of fiscal 2008, an increase of 23% over last
year's third quarter's fully diluted earnings per share of $0.78.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGO )
Revenues for the quarter increased 12% to $998,242,000 from
$893,031,000 in the year-ago period. Revenues were comprised of net
sales of $918,146,000, an increase of 11% from $830,431,000 in the
year-ago period, earnings contribution of $51,753,000 from the
co-promotion of Benicar(R)* (olmesartan medoxomil) and Benicar
HCT(R), antihypertensive therapies, which increased 34% from
$38,664,000 in the year-ago quarter, interest income of $25,862,000
which increased 15% from $22,577,000 in the year-ago period and
other contract and miscellaneous income of $2,481,000. Sales in the
quarter included $603,454,000 of Lexapro(R) (escitalopram oxalate),
an SSRI indicated for the initial and maintenance treatment of
major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in
adults. This represents growth of 11% from the year-ago period.
Sales of Namenda(R), an NMDA receptor antagonist for the treatment
of moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease, totaled $218,735,000 in
the quarter, growth of 26% from reported sales of $173,881,000 in
last year's third quarter. Product wholesalers collectively held
more inventory of both Lexapro and Namenda at the end of the
December quarter which positively impacted sales of these products
by approximately $23,000,000 for Lexapro and $5,000,000 for
Namenda. Wholesaler inventory levels for both products are
currently at approximately two weeks of sales. Selling, general and
administrative expenses increased 6% to $285,652,000. Research and
development spending decreased 3% to $108,246,000 during the
quarter. The year ago-period research and development spending
included milestone payments of approximately $20,000,000 compared
to milestone payments of approximately $5,000,000 in the just
reported quarter. Net income in the current quarter increased by
21% to $301,757,000 as compared to $250,301,000 reported in the
third quarter of the prior year. Fully diluted shares outstanding
for the third quarter were 313,107,000, a reduction of 7,256,000
shares from last year due mainly to the Company's share repurchase
program. During the quarter the Company purchased 2,124,800 shares
under its current 35 million share authorization and has an
additional 15,810,200 shares available for repurchase under the
program, which has no expiration date. Nine-month results Revenue
for the nine months ended December 31, 2007 increased 11% to
$2,845,476,000 from $2,556,344,000 in the prior year. Net income
for the nine months ended December 31, 2007 increased 15% to
$795,163,000 from net income of $692,019,000 reported in the nine
months of the prior year. Diluted reported earnings per share
increased 17% to $2.51 in the current year's first nine months as
compared to diluted earnings per share of $2.14 for last year's
nine months. Fiscal 2008 Guidance Based on the
stronger-than-projected performance of our promoted products, the
Company has increased its expectations for fully diluted earnings
per share for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008 to $3.35-$3.45
from prior guidance of $3.10-$3.20 per share. The revised guidance
excludes the impact of the one-time licensing payment, equal to
$0.15 per share, made to Microbia in the fiscal second quarter for
development and marketing rights to linaclotide. Howard Solomon,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Forest, said: "We are
pleased with both the performance of our currently marketed drugs
as well as the achievements reported for our product pipeline
during the just completed quarter. Namenda sales exceeded $200
million for the first time, while Lexapro also generated record
sales and income from the Benicar(R) co-promotion remained strong.
During the quarter we also commenced the launch of Azor(TM), a
fixed dose combination of Benicar and amlodipine for the treatment
of hypertension with our partner Daiichi Sankyo. Forest will
complete its co-promotion period for Benicar at the end of the
coming quarter and will continue to receive a portion of the
product's profit for an additional six years ending in April 2014.
Forest will reallocate the portion of its salesforce that had been
supporting Benicar to our two most recent product launches: Azor
and Bystolic(TM), a beta blocker for the treatment of hypertension,
which received Food and Drug Administration marketing approval on
December 17, 2007. Regarding our development pipeline, we submitted
a new drug application for milnacipran for the treatment of
fibromyalgia. In addition, we reported positive data from a 316
patient Phase III trial for Lexapro in the treatment of adolescent
depression patients aged 12-18 and intend to file a supplemental
new drug application to expand the product's label. This clinical
data is particularly important given that depression is a
significant problem in this age group and also due to the current
attention being given to the use of antidepressants as treatment
for this population. We also reported supportive proof of concept
data for RGH-188 for the treatment of schizophrenia. As our
pipeline continues to expand, we expect to report clinical trial
results for several late-stage products during the remainder of the
calendar year and also expect that we will enter into development
agreements for additional compounds. The Company will continue to
allocate appropriate resources to advance and expand the
development pipeline in order to ultimately more than replace sales
and earnings from currently marketed products that will decline
following expiration of their marketing exclusivity." 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, 2008 at both websites and also by dialing
1-800-642-1687 (US investors) or +1-706-645-9291 (international
investors) passcode 30069630. About Forest Laboratories and Its
Products Forest Laboratories (http://www.frx.com/) is a US-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 generalized anxiety disorder; Namenda(R) (memantine HCl), an
N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor antagonist indicated for the
treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease; 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. In addition to our growing product line, Forest also
co-promotes the Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. products Benicar(R)*
(olmesartan medoxomil), an angiotensin receptor blocker, Benicar
HCT(R)* (olmesartan medoxomil-hydrochlorothiazide), an angiotensin
receptor blocker and diuretic combination product, and AZOR(TM)*
(amlodipine and olmesartan medoxomil) a calcium channel blocker and
angiotensin receptor blocker combination product, all indicated for
the treatment of hypertension. *Azor is a trademark of Daiichi
Sankyo, Inc.; Benicar and Benicar HCT are registered trademarks of
Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.; 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 Litigation Reform act of 1995. These
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including
the difficulty of predicting FDA approvals, the 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 each of
Forest Laboratories' Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q, and any subsequent SEC filings. 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) 2007 2006 2007 2006 Revenues:
Net sales $918,146 $830,431 $2,603,099 $2,367,875 Contract revenue
52,705 38,914 156,395 130,485 Interest income 25,862 22,577 77,532
56,330 Other income 1,529 1,109 8,450 1,654 Net revenues 998,242
893,031 2,845,476 2,556,344 Costs and expenses: Cost of goods sold
213,506 195,539 589,738 556,322 Selling, general and administrative
285,652 268,626 827,419 772,017 Research and development 108,246
112,029 415,892 344,863 607,404 576,194 1,833,049 1,673,202 Income
before income tax expense 390,838 316,837 1,012,427 883,142 Income
tax expense 89,081 66,536 217,264 191,123 Net income $301,757
$250,301 $795,163 $692,019 Net income per share: Basic $0.97 $0.79
$2.52 $2.17 Diluted $0.96 $0.78 $2.51 $2.14 Weighted average number
of shares outstanding: Basic 312,140 316,200 315,729 318,512
Diluted 313,107 320,363 317,279 323,048
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Forest Laboratories, Inc.
CONTACT: Charles E. Triano, Vice President - Investor Relations of
Forest Laboratories, Inc., +1-212-224-6714, Web site:
http://www.frx.com/ http://www.streetevents.com/
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