Barr's 1st-qtr 2007 EPS falls to $0.11 from $0.70

The USA's Barr Pharmaceuticals says that its first-quarter 2007 net earnings totaled $11.6 million, or $0.11 per share, on revenues of $599.0 million, versus prior year first-quarter income of $76.1 million, or $0.70 per share, on sales of $327 million.

US generic products earned $304.0 million versus $200.0 million, due to the inclusion of sales from Pliva, as well as strong sales of fentanyl citrate, a generic version of Cephalon's opioid painkiller Actiq launched in late September 2006, and higher generic oral contraceptive sales.

Commenting on the poor performance, chief executive Bruce Downey said that, "while performance in our proprietary business was down, we had anticipated that the generic competition for Sesonale would impact sales, particularly as we ramp up promotion of Seasonique, our second-generation extended-cycle oral contraceptive. This decrease somewhat offset the contribution of Plan B, over-the-counter and prescription, as well as the contribution of [attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder drug] Adderall."