Allergan Inc. (AGN) posted a 64% slump in first-quarter profit
on a host of charges as the eye- and skin-care products company was
also hurt by the stronger dollar.
Shares fell 3.8% premarket to $44.88 even as earnings excluding
items topped the company's forecast.
Makers of aesthetic medical treatments are under pressure from
the economic slowdown. While many established patients are sticking
to their beauty regimens, it is tough to entice new patients in the
current environment. In February, Allergan said it would cut 5% of
its work force, targeting mainly its U.S. urology sales force and
marketing staff in the U.S. and Europe.
The maker of Botox and the nation's largest seller of medical
products for appearance-enhancement treatments reported
first-quarter earnings of $44.7 million, or 15 cents a share,
compared with $123.7 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items including charges from changing stock options,
profit rose to 55 cents a share from 53 cents.
Revenue fell 6.4%, with product sales falling 6.3% to $994.6
million on the stronger dollar.
In February, Allergan forecast earnings, excluding items, of 50
cents to 52 cents on product sales of $960 million to $1
billion.
Pharmaceutical sales were down 3.6%, but rose 2.3% excluding
currency changes.
Allergan, which reiterated its 2009 forecast, sees
second-quarter earnings, excluding items, of 66 cents to 68 cents a
share, on product net sales of $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion.
Analysts, surveyed by Thomson Reuters, projected earnings of 68
cents and total revenue of $1.08 billion for that quarter.
-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658;
mike.barris@dowjones.com