Duramed erases loss as Solvay covers Cenestin promotional costs
CINCINNATI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Duramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:DRMD) on Wednesday said its fourth-quarter 2000 net income rose into the black on the strength of estrogen sales and reduced administrative and marketing costs.
The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company, which specializes in hormone drugs for women, said net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2000, was $1.5 million, or 6 cents per share compared to a net loss of $12.3 million, or 53 cents a share, a year ago.
The results were positively impacted by a reduction in marketing costs for its leading hormone drug, Cenestin, after Marietta, Ga.-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals in January 2000 assumed responsibility for promotion of the drug to doctors in exchange for a share of its profits. Duramed's Cenestin marketing expenses for the fourth quarter of 2000 were down to $2.7 million compared to fourth-quarter 1999 marketing costs of $10.2 million.
Duramed's net sales for the fourth quarter were up 50 percent to $23.8 million on increased sales of Cenestin and Apri, the company's oral contraceptive drug, compared to net sales of $15.9 million in the fourth quarter of 1999.
Cenestin's annual revenues were approximately $22.4 million, and the drug represents the "most significant long-term growth opportunity," the company said. The company forecast 2001 net income before taxes to range between $7 million and $9 million.
Shares of Duramed were up $3/32, or 1.4 percent, to $6-1/2 in early trading Wednesday. |
