Valeant Pharmaceuticals International on Monday posted first-quarter financial results that exceeded Wall Street estimates and upped its full-year profit outlook.
The Aliso Viejo drug maker posted an adjusted profit of $52.8 million, up 39% from an adjusted profit of $38.1 million in last year’s first quarter.
Wall Street projected Valeant’s first-quarter profit to come in at $49.4 million.
With items, Valeant’s profit was $35.6 million, up 16% from $30.8 million in 2009’s first quarter.
First-quarter revenue shot up 30% to $232 million. Analysts had been expecting Valeant’s revenue to come in at $224.7 million.
Valeant raised its 2010 profit forecast to $218.2 million to $238.8 million, up from a previous projection of $201.7 million to $222.3 million.
Analysts expect Valeant to make $209.1 million in 2010.
Valeant also said that it expects its product sales should rise more than 30% in 2010, implying a total of at least $924 million, compared with $710.8 million in 2009.
Wall Street expects Valeant to have $971.4 million in full-year revenue. Besides product sales, Valeant also gets some royalty revenue from its ribavirin drug for hepatitis C.
Valeant also said that it was going to buy Lawrenceville, N.J. -based Aton Pharma Inc. for $318 million. Aton focuses on drugs for the eye and “orphan drugs,” which are developed to treat rare medical conditions.
The drug maker said that buying Aton would strengthen its neurology business.
