HRT demand boosts third-quarter sales at Warner Chilcott to $113m

WARNER CHILCOTT, the Northern drugmaker formerly called Galen, has reported a 13% rise in third-quarter sales.

The company said sales for the three months to the end of June had climbed by $13 million to $113 million, boosted by increased demand for its hormone replacement therapies (HRT), contraceptive pills and its Doryx acne cream. But sales of Sarafem, for premenstrual syndrome, fell 69% to just $6.7 million.

Chief executive Roger Boissonneault said the results show good growth, marginal improvement and cash generation in its continuing operations.

“All revenues now come from our US speciality business with a portfolio of products that gives us scale in our chosen therapeutic areas. We are very pleased with the performance of the business during the quarter and remain confident in the continued performance of Warner Chilcott for the remainder of this year.”

During the year, the company sold its British pharmaceutical products business and sterile products business to focus exclusively on the US branded pharmaceutical market.

The company said that operating profit before exceptional items declined 2.4% to $60.2 million from $61.7 million in 2003. After exceptional items, which include a $21.3 million gain from the sale of the pharmaceutical and sterile products businesses, pre-tax profit rose to $60.5 million from $39.46 million.

Earnings per share before goodwill and exceptional items fell 6% to 25.1 cents, reflecting the asset disposals.

Mr Boissonneault said that he expects three product launches in the first half of 2005.

This will include approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Femtrace, an oral estrogen therapy product, in the fourth quarter, with commercial launch expected in the first quarter of 2005.

A new version of Doryx and a low dose of Femhrt, a hormone replacement therapy product, should also get approval in the first quarter of next year.

Mr Boissonneault said the company may continue to buy back its owns shares, but said its priority was to use the cash it generates to buy medicines.

But he dismissed media reported that the firm might switch its primary listing to the US.

Shares, which have fallen from 875p since March, rose 25p to 576p yesterday.

The chief executive said the company was on course to post earnings per share of around 100-110 cents for the full year, which ends in September.