Actavis sees 4th-qtr pretax profit grow 112%

Icelandic generics group Actavis has put in a strong set of forth-quarter and full-year 2005 results, with a hefty contribution from its North American business where it has made significant acquisitions (see also story above).

Sales for the fourth quarter rose 73.0% to 194.5 million euros ($236.8 million), with pretax profits rising 112.2% to 36.6 million euros and net profit up 94.8% to 35.4 million euros. For the year, sales grew 27.8% to 579.3 million euros, pretax profit was up 22.0% to 91.5 million euros and net earnings were 26.0% higher at 81.0 million euros, the firm reported.

Own-label sales increased 22.8% to 84.2 million euros in the quarter, reflecting good performance in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and new markets in central Europe. Third-party revenues grew 37.9% to 46.0 million euros, driven by a strong performance in France, where a number of new products were launched, and Germany. The group's North America division has sales of 30.4 million euros, up 29.1% on the like 2004 quarter.