Forest Laboratories to Exceed Fiscal 2004 Third Quarter Consensus and Guides Full Year to Top End of Previous Guidance
January 09 2004 - 11:04AM
PR Newswire (US)
Forest Laboratories to Exceed Fiscal 2004 Third Quarter Consensus
and Guides Full Year to Top End of Previous Guidance NEW YORK, Jan.
9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Forest Laboratories, Inc. , an
international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, today
announced that it expects its performance for the fiscal 2004 third
quarter ended December 31, 2003 to exceed current consensus
estimates. The Company projects that diluted earnings per share
will exceed the current First Call consensus estimate of $0.51 per
share by at least 15%. In the third quarter of last fiscal year
Forest earned $0.47 per share. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGO ) The
Company indicated that the principal reason for the better than
anticipated performance in the quarter is strong net sales volume
which will be approximately $700 million. Sales of its
antidepressant Lexapro(R) were approximately $315 million and sales
of the antidepressant Celexa(R) were approximately $275 million.
The Company believes that a portion of the sales increase in the
quarter was due to wholesaler buying patterns prior to the holiday
period at the end of the quarter which may have contributed an
additional $15 to $25 million of sales in the quarter. Research and
development expense in the quarter was approximately $50 million
which was somewhat lower than planned due to the timing of our just
announced agreement with Cypress Bioscience, Inc. and the resulting
research and development payment, which will now occur in the March
quarter. The Company's previous earnings per share guidance for our
March 31, 2004 fiscal year was a range of $1.82 to $1.92. However,
given the performance of this quarter, the Company now anticipates
that earnings per share will be at the upper end of that range.
Included in this is the research and development payment for the
just announced Cypress Bioscience, Inc. agreement, anticipation
that some portion of the excess buy-in in the third quarter will
reverse in the fourth quarter, and an overall spending level
somewhat lower than initially planned. About Forest Laboratories
and Its Products Forest Laboratories' growing line of products
includes: Lexapro(R), an SSRI antidepressant indicated for the
initial and maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder and
Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Celexa(R), an antidepressant;
Namenda(TM), an N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist
indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's
disease; Tiazac(R), a once-daily diltiazem, indicated for the
treatment of angina and hypertension; Benicar(R)*, an angiotensin
receptor blocker indicated for the treatment of hypertension;
Benicar HCT, an angiotensin receptor blocker and diuretic
combination product indicated for the second- line treatment of
hypertension; and Aerobid(R), an inhaled steroid indicated for the
treatment of asthma. * Benicar(R) is a registered trademark of
Sankyo Pharma, Inc. Except for historical information contained
herein, this release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
affect our business, including 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, 2003, and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ending June 30,
2003, and September 30, 2003. Actual results may differ materially
from those projected.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGODATASOURCE:
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/
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