Valeant Pharmaceuticals International on Wednesday said its fourth-quarter loss was cut nearly in half, thanks to cutting costs and new product sales growth.
The Aliso Viejo drug maker posted a net loss of $22.1 million in the quarter, compared to a loss of $44.8 million in 2005’s fourth quarter. Excluding charges, Valeant earned $17 million in the quarter.
Fourth-quarter sales rose 11% to $257.4 million.
Analysts expected Valeant to earn $17 million on revenue of $231.8 million in the fourth quarter.
A 15% increase in sales of Valeant’s other products offset a decline in royalties from the company’s longtime hepatitis C treatment, ribavirin. Royalties from ribavirin fell 21% to $20.5 million.
For 2006, Valeant posted a net loss of $56.6 million. Revenue was up 10% to $907.2 million.
New product sales and a restructuring program that saved $30 million in 2006 helped its results, the company said in a release.
