Hospira Inc.'s (HSP) second-quarter earnings soared 72%, driven
by strong sales in the specialty injectable pharmaceuticals
group.
Adjusted profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
The medical-device and injectable-drug maker raised its 2011
sales growth projections by 2 percentage points to 7% to 9% and
affirmed its per-share earnings forecast.
Hospira, which was spun off from Abbott Laboratories (ABT) in
2004, had predicted in April that the second quarter would see the
year's lightest earnings due to a shift in U.S. sales of its
generic Docetaxel. The Food and Drug Administration's approval in
March for Hospira's generic version of the Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY,
SAN.FR) cancer drug Taxotere had essentially pulled forward some of
those sales into the first quarter. And the approval earlier this
month of a competing version of Taxotere from Novartis AG (NVS)
added to the pressure.
Hospira reported a profit of $143.6 million, or 85 cents a
share, up from $83.5 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding acquisition-related charges and other items, earnings
were up at 94 cents from 86 cents. Revenue increased 9.9% to $1.06
billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast
earnings of 79 cents on revenue of $973 million.
Gross margin rose to 38.9% from 38.1%.
Shares closed Tuesday at $52.10 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is down 6.5% this year.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com