("Forest Labs 2Q Net Drops 23% On Charges; Results Beats Views,"
at 8:36 a.m. EDT, incorrectly said earnings topped analysts'
expectations in the headline and first paragraph. The correct
version follows: )
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Forest Laboratories Inc.'s (FRX) fiscal second-quarter profit
fell 23% on acquisition-related charges as sales of its Namenda
treatment for Alzheimer's disease and dementia rose while its star
depression fighter, Lexapro, fell.
As is the case with other smaller drug makers, Forest Labs'
efforts to boost its pipeline through acquisitions have been
challenged by the tight credit markets. It also has been seeing
slowing sales of Lexapro, which the company sells for Denmark's H.
Lundbeck A/S (HLUKY, LUN.KO) in the U.S. and which accounts for
about 60% of Forest Labs' revenue. Lexapro competes with Eli Lilly
& Co.'s (LLY) Cymbalta depression treatment.
For the period ended Sept. 30, Forest Labs' earnings fell to
$186.7 million, or 61 cents a share, from $244.1 million, or 80
cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results inecluded a net
24 cents a share in primarily acquisition-related charges.
Revenue rose 7.2% to $1.06 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings,
excluding items, of 86 cents a share on revenue of $1.02
billion.
Lexapro sales fell 3.1%, while Namenda, the company's other star
drug, climbed 12%. Savella, a fibromyalgia treatment introduced by
Forest Labs and Cypress Bioscience Inc. (CYPB) in the spring, had
sales of $10.2 million. The product competes with Pfizer Inc.'s
(PFE) Lyrica.
Shares of Forest Labs closed Monday at $30.25 and didn't trade
premarket.
-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2330;
mike.barris@dowjones.com;