Shares of Aliso Viejo-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International were up nearly 7% at close of trading as investors appeared to look past a disappointing second-quarter loss at the restructuring drug maker.
Valeant, which counts a market value of $1.7 billion, lost $5.7 million in the quarter, after adjustments for income taxes, net loss from continuing operations and other items. A year earlier, Valeant earned a profit of $14.2 million.
Analysts had been expecting a loss of about $1 million.
Valeant beat Wall Street expectations for revenue. The company reported $206.8 million in sales, down 6% from a year earlier but ahead of the $200.4 million analysts had expected.
The company didn’t offer an outlook for the current quarter amid its restructuring.
Valeant makes drugs to treat skin diseases and neurological conditions and got its start as ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The company is under going a restructuring that played out in its results.
Sales were $20 million lower with a planned reduction in shipments to distributors in North America.
Earlier this month, Valeant said it is selling some European operations to Swedish drug company Meda AB for nearly $400 million.
The deal covers operations, product rights and licenses in Western and Eastern Europe.
Valeant continues to look for a buyer or consider a spinoff of its Polish operations as it seeks to focus on its North American operations.
Chief Executive Officer J. Michael Pearson, a former McKinsey & Co. director hired in February, called the company’s second-quarter results “poor.”
“However, they are largely a reflection of many of the key components of the turnaround program,” he said.
The company plans more changes, including subleasing its Aliso Viejo headquarters and moving to a “more modest space,” Pearson said in a conference call.
He didn’t say where Valeant is looking.
