Sales & Earnings In Brief
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
SCOLR supplement royalties shrink: The Bothell, Wash.-based pharma firm reports an 18.6 percent drop in its fiscal 2008 to $958,320 in royalties paid by dietary supplement firms licensing its controlled delivery technology. SCOLR said March 11 it received lower royalty income from Perrigo and terminated its relationship with Nutraceutix in 2008. Royalties in 2008 constituted the firm's sole source of revenue, which fell 51.4 percent from $2 million in fiscal 2007. Revenues for the fourth quarter - October through December - decreased 20.4 percent to $176,885. The firm narrowed its full-year net loss by 42.2 percent to $6.1 million, due primarily to a lease buyout transaction. Despite struggles to generate revenue, SCOLR President and CEO Bruce Morra expressed optimism a partner will be found to assist with commercializing an OTC ibuprofen product using CDT currently in development. He also said an abbreviated new drug application for the firm's pseudoephedrine product is moving closer to FDA approval. SCOLR received a complete response letter from the agency with questions about the PSE application in January, though the company says FDA's concerns are not linked to the drug's safety or efficacy (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 26, 2009, p. 16)
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Sales & Earnings In Brief
Private-label prosperity picks up Perrigo: The Allegan, Mich.-based firm says its consumer health care segment sales grew 12 percent to $419.1 million during its fiscal 2009 third quarter, including a $39 million increase attributable to the acquisitions of JB Labs, Unico Holdings, Laboratorios Diba and Brunel Pharma. "Consumers are realizing the value of store brands in a challenging economy," said President and CEO Joseph Papa, citing 11.7 percent growth of the U.S. OTC store brand market in the quarter. "Perrigo is uniquely positioned to deliver that value to consumers," he added during a May 7 earnings call. The private labeler reported net sales of $505.9 million for the January-March period, up 5.3 percent from $480.6 million, and setting a company quarterly earnings per-share record of 50 cents, up from 42 cents in the year-ago quarter. Papa touted the nearly 40 percent market share of omeprazole, equivalent to Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC, and added that Perrigo projects full-year sales of that generic to reach the high end of its guidance range of $150 million to $200 million (1"The Tan Sheet" Feb. 9, 2009, p. 12). Perrigo also announced it is seeking to divest its Israel consumer products segment, which includes Careline beauty brands. Sales for the Israel business dropped 22 percent to $18 million from $23 million during the quarter
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