Warner Chilcott 2Q adj. profit tops Street's view

NEW YORK (AP) — Weaker sales of osteoporosis treatment Actonel sent Irish drugmaker Warner Chilcott's second-quarter revenue lower. Its net income dropped 26 percent on an impairment charge and higher income tax provision.

The drugmaker's adjusted results topped analysts' estimates, and the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings outlook.

For the quarter, Warner Chilcott earned $53 million, or 21 cents per share. That compares with $72 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings were $1.03 per share when removing a $106 million charge to write down the value of its drugs as they receive competition from generic versions, and other items.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected 80 cents per share.

Revenue for the period ended June 30 declined 5 percent to $638 million from $670 million, but beat Wall Street's estimate of $608.1 million.

Actonel sales dropped 15 percent in the U.S. during the quarter, while sales of the medicine throughout the rest of the world fell 38 percent mostly because the company no longer has exclusive rights in Western Europe.

Warner Chilcott PLC said Thursday that it expects Actonel sales will continue to drop significantly for the rest of the year but that sales from its new osteoporosis treatment called Atelvia will help to offset some of that in the U.S.

Sales of oral contraceptive products rose 17 percent thanks to higher prices and better sales of birth control pill Lo Loestrin FE. Sales of Estrace cream — used for menopause— and overactive bladder treatment Enablex climbed. Sales of Doryx, used to treat acne and other medical conditions, fell 28 percent. Sales of ulcerative colitis treatment Asacol were basically flat.

Going forward, Warner Chilcott now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $3.55 to $3.65 per share, up from a range of $3.30 to $3.40 per share. It maintained its revenue forecast of $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion.

Analysts had predicted earnings of $3.45 per share on revenue of $2.48 billion.