Allergan Inc., the Irvine-based maker of Botox and other drugs, on Friday reported a first-quarter profit that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations and reaffirmed its outlook, despite slowing sales.
Investors sent Allergan shares down about 6% near close of Friday trading on a market value of $13.7 billion. The drop could be related to concerns about a Botox rival being approved by the Food and Drug Administration and a report on potential dangers of Botox, both announced last week.
Allergan said that it earned $167.6 million in the quarter before charges, above analysts’ expectations of a $161.5 million quarterly profit.
After restructuring and legal charges, Allergan made $44.7 million in the quarter, down 59% from $107.7 million in 2008’s first quarter.
Allergan’s sales fell 6% to $1.01 billion, in line with expectations.
Botox sales were down 6% to $297.3 million, while breast implant sales fell 16% to $66.2 million. Revenue from eye drugs, Allergan’s historical core category, dropped 4% to $473.6 million.
As for its second-quarter outlook, Allergan said it expects to post a profit of $201.2 million to $207.3 million, which at the high end would meet Wall Street’s expectations of $207.3 million.
Sales are seen coming in at $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion, compared to Wall Street’s expectations of $1.08 billion.
For 2009, Allergan reaffirmed its outlook for $819.9 million to $838.2 million in profit, versus the $826 million Wall Street had been looking for.
Sales are projected at $4.1 billion to $4.3 billion. Analysts are looking for sales of $4.26 billion in 2009.
Separately, Allergan said it was going to work with the FDA on potential Botox label updates, after regulators said that Botox and rival products must contain strong warnings about potential complications if the drugs spread in the body.
