Allergan Inc., the Irvine-based maker of Botox and other drugs, had its outlook raised Tuesday by Fitch Ratings Inc.
Fitch said it changed its outlook on Allergan to “positive” from “stable,” based on unexpected revenue growth.
Allergan’s revenue rose 2% in 2009 to $4.5 billion. Fitch had expected a decrease in revenue and now expects Allergan’s revenue to grow in 2010 as well.
The drug maker has said that its product sales (slightly less than total sales) would come in at $4.55 billion to $4.75 billion, compared to Wall Street’s forecast of $4.78 billion.
Fitch’s upgrade could be a precursor to raising Allergan’s credit rating.
For now, Fitch maintained Allergan’s “A-” investment-grade rating that applies to $1.51 billion in debt that the drug maker holds, and said it might issue an upgrade if Allergan doesn’t go further into debt.
