ALLEGAN – Shares of Perrigo Co. dropped to an annual low Tuesday after the drugmaker reported a smaller profit than analysts expected and cut its fiscal 2009 expectations.
Perrigo said its profit fell 27 percent, to $25 million, or 27 cents per share, from $34.3 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier. That included a write-down of $15.1 million, or 16 cents per share, as auction rate securities the company bought in Israel from Lehman Brothers lost value.
Excluding that write-down Perrigo’s profit totaled $42.7 million, or 46 cents per share. Revenue rose 29 percent, to $561.5 million from $435.5 million.
On average, analysts expected 50 cents per share and $541.3 million in revenue, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Perrigo stock dropped $6.15, or 21 percent, to finish at $23.11. It fell as far as $22.11 earlier in the session, its lowest price since October 2007.
In the three months ended December 27, 2008, Perrigo said consumer health sales grew 39 percent, to $446.4 million from $320.2 million, due to greater sales of new products. The division makes over-the-counter drugs and nutritional products.
Revenue from the Rx Pharmaceutical business, which makes generic versions of prescription drugs, increased 4 percent to $40.4 million from $38.7 million.
However, revenue at the active pharmaceutical ingredients business slipped to $31.9 million from $34.6 million, partly due to unfavorable foreign exchanges, Other revenue grew to $42.8 million from $42 million.
Citing economic difficulties and API’s struggles, the company lowered its profit estimates for the full year.
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