Elan shares jump on reduction of losses

SHARES in Elan gained as much as 7% yesterday as the drug firm posted a sharp reduction in first quarter losses.

Athlone-base Elan said operating losses for the three months to end March had fallen from $74 million to $53.4m, while at pre-tax level the loss was down from $140m to $67m.

The company attributed the better position to the disposal of non-core businesses. The loss per share fell from 40 cents to 17 cents.