Irvine-based eye drug maker Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it projects its first profitable year in 2010 with net earnings at least $1 million.
Excluding onetime charges, Ista forecast yearly operating income of $8 million to $10 million, versus a projected loss of about $11 million for 2009.
Ista is set to release fourth-quarter and 2009 results later this month.
Analysts on average expect a 2010 profit before charges of $7.8 million.
Ista said it projects sales of $147 million to $165 million for 2010, up about 40% from what’s forecast for 2009.
Analysts on average had been looking for 2010 sales of $148 million.
The company’s shares were up nearly 4% in midday New York trading on a market value of $124 million.
“We’re just now beginning to enter a huge—what I think is going to be explosive—growth phase,” Chief Executive Vince Anido told the Business Journal late last year.
Ista, which started in 1992, has seen rapid sales growth in the past few years.
The company’s sales have primarily grown because of Xibrom, a drug used to treat pain after cataract surgery. Xibrom accounts for 76% of its revenue.
A new formulation is in the works for Xibrom, which is set to eventually face generic competition. Ista said it doesn’t expect to see a generic version of the drug this year.
In the second quarter, Ista plans to start selling Bepreve, a prescription drug for treating itchy eyes from allergies.
Bepreve could generate $20 million in sales this year, according to Ista.
