ICN Pharma $10 million stock buyback

ICN Pharmaceutical has completed a $10 million stock buyback program,authorized by its board of directors in September 1998. The company said it had repurchased 200,000 shares of its outstanding common stock for $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 1998 and 223,967 shares for $5.5 million in the first quarter of 1999.

"We continue to believe that our shares are undervalued, and that the stock repurchase is an excellent use of our capital," said the company's chairman and chief executive, Milan Panic. He added that "record performance from our North America, western Europe, Latin America and Asia, Africa and Australia regions in 1998, and the growing contributions of ICN's ribavarin in the breakthrough combination for hepatitis C (Schering-Plough's Rebetron), is still not reflected in the market."

The company adds that a long-term repurchase program that allows for the buyback of up to 3 million shares of ICN's outstanding common stock, subject to contractual limitations and representing around 4% of the 77.4 million shares outstanding as of April 13, is still in effect.