Teva Q2 profit falls on litigation charges
World's largest maker of generic drugs says its profit dropped 28% to $576 million after settling lawsuits brought by Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc
The company said its profit fell to $576 million, or 64 cents per share, from $797 million, or 88 cents per share. Excluding one-time costs and gains, Teva said it earned $1.10 per share. Revenue grew 11%, to $4.21 billion from $3.8 billion, as a series of acquisitions boosted its sales.
Analysts expected a profit of $1.08 per share and $4.24 billion in revenue, according to FactSet survey.
Teva took one-time charges to settle lawsuits that followed its launches of generic versions of Novartis's high blood pressure drug Lotrel and Pfizer's seizure drug Neurontin.
The company conducted "at-risk" launches of those drugs, meaning it began selling the generics before the patents supporting the drugs expired. Teva said its litigation costs also included liability cases related to the sedative propofol. Its litigation costs totaled $221 million.
It also reported $177 million in amortization and inventory charges and $51 million in restructuring and acquisition costs.
The Israeli company said sales in North America fell 15% to $2.1 billion because it has not launched any major new products, and sales of some key products decreased. It said sales of generic drugs in the US fell 40%. Sales in Europe jumped 82% to $1.48 billion after Teva acquired German drugmaker Ratiopharm.
It said sales rose in markets including Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Revenue from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia rose a total of 22% to $635 million.
Sales of the company's multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone rose 24% to $957 million, and revenue from the Parkinson's disease drug Azilect grew 38% to $97 million. Teva said sales of respiratory drugs rose 9% to $240 million and women's health product sales increased 45% to $119 million.
Earlier this month, Teva expanded its Japanese business by acquiring Taiyo Pharmaceutical Industry Co., the third largest generic drugmaker in the country.
It is in the process of expanding its branded drug business by acquiring Cephalon Inc., the maker of sleep disorder drug Provigil and cancer drug Treanda. Cephalon shareholders approved the $6.8 billion deal earlier this month.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
