Sales & Earnings In Brief
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Perrigo raises guidance: The private label firm raises its full-year fiscal 2009 earnings guidance by 2 cents per share after reaching record sales and earnings in its first quarter, CEO Joe Papa says during a Nov. 6 earnings call. Perrigo says it is increasing earnings guidance to between $1.92 and $2 per share. Net sales climbed 25 percent to $480 million and net income jumped 12 percent to a first-quarter record of $38 million, Papa said. The Allegan, Mich.-based company's consumer health care sales rose to $366.2 million due in part to $66.8 million in new product sales led by its OTC proton pump inhibitor (omeprazole), ceterizine-containing products and Famotidine Complete antacid, according to a same-day release. Perrigo's consumer health care net sales were up 37 percent, an increase of nearly $100 million, Papa said. He noted the firm's recent acquisitions of U.K. private-label supplier Galpharm, Mexican store-brand company Laboratorios Diba and Michigan contract manufacturer JB Labs, and said Perrigo looks to grow more internationally (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 13, 2008, p. 3)
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Sales & Earnings In Brief
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)
Value Strategy Offers Alternative To Price Cuts For Some Firms
Some health and personal care companies are promoting their products' value and creatively streamlining production, rather than slashing prices to compete with private-label and less expensive goods in the faltering economy
Sales & Earnings In Brief
Prestige OTCs up, personal care down: The drug and personal care product marketer and distributor reports a 5.6 percent increase to $47.6 million in net revenues for its OTC segment during its fiscal 2008 third quarter, although total company net revenues were flat and total net income dropped 4.8 percent to $8 million. Diluted earnings per share for the October-December period fell from 17 cents to 16 cents. A busy cold and flu season drove Prestige Brands' OTC growth with its Chloraseptic and Little Remedies brands, as well as the Allergen Block line of preventive drug-free gels launched in 2008 (1"The Tan Sheet" Nov. 10, 2008, p. 15). Declines in Murine and Clear Eyes eye care brands partially offset other OTC gains, but Chairman and CEO Mark Pettie says a new "eight hours of soothing relief" claim for Clear Eyes will help drive growth. Total revenues for the Irvington, N.Y.-based firm's personal care business fell 10.2 percent from the year-ago period, because of what Pettie called "anticipated declines" in sales of Denorex dandruff shampoo. Sales of wart removers Compound W and Wartner also fell, Prestige reports. Pettie calls Prestige's free cash flow a "bright spot," but says the firm is unlikely to meet its 2 percent to 4 percent anticipated long-term growth rate in 2009