Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. reported fourth-quarter results that topped what Wall Street expected but warned of a big profit shortfall for the current quarter.
The maker of Botox, other medical cosmetics and eye and skin drugs said it expects a profit of $175 million to $181 million for the first quarter, well below the $168 million analysts had been looking for on average.
Allergan said it forecasts first-quarter product sales (which are slightly less than total sales) of $1.06 billion to $1.1 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting $1.11 billion in sales for the current quarter.
Allergan’s shares were down slightly in morning New York trading on a market value of nearly $17 billion.
For all of 2010, Allergan issued a profit outlook that at the low end was below what analysts had been expecting and met views on the high end.
The forecast came as Allergan topped expectations with fourth-quarter results.
The company reported a profit minus onetime items of $239.5 million, up 2% from a year earlier and just ahead of the $236.4 million analysts expected.
Sales came in at $1.22 billion, up 16% from a year earlier and topping Wall Street’s forecast of $1.16 billion.
