Hospira posts 2Q profit as charges decrease
Hospira posts 2nd-qtr profit as charges fall; revenue holds steady on injectable drug sales
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -- Hospira Inc. said Wednesday that it turned a profit in the second quarter due to lower costs. A year ago, it racked up restructuring and other charges related to problems at a North Carolina manufacturing plant.
Hospira, which makes injectable drugs, earned $32.9 million, or 20 cents per share. A year ago Hospira reported a loss of $2.5 million, or 2 cents per share. If one-time charges are excluded, earnings rose 4 cents to 55 cents per share.
In the second quarter of 2012 the company spent $32 million on restructuring and writing down the value of its assets. It's been working to fix manufacturing problems at its facility in Rocky Mount, N.C.
Revenue held steady at $1.03 billion.
Analysts were expecting net income of 51 cents per share and $1.03 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
Sales of specialty injectable drugs, or drugs that require special handling, grew 7 percent to $689.8 million. Medical device revenue fell 16 percent to $214 million and sales of other pharmaceutical revenue decreased to $122.4 million.
Cutting costs helped Hospira's profit. It lowered research and development costs 11 percent to $74.4 million.
For the full year the company still expects net income of $2.00 to $2.10 per share.
Shares of Hospira added 39 cents, or 1 percent, to $40.09, touching a new 52-week high earlier Wednesday of $40.30.
