Forest Labs. Q1 Profit Falls, Adj. EPS Flat - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Drug maker Forest Laboratories, Inc. (FRX) announced a drop in reported net income to $23.28 million, or $0.09 a share in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, from $55.29 million, or $0.21 a share, a year before.

Excluding acquisition related amortization and specified items, non-GAAP earnings per share for the period remained unchanged at $0.28. On average, 22 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.08 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items. First-quarter 2014 earnings were higher than expected due mainly to timing of spending for research and development expenses, according to the company.

Quarterly net sales reached $796.9 million, up 6.0% from $751.8 million in the prior-year quarter, helped by sales of the company's next generation products which totaled $294.1 million, a 47.8% increase compared with last year, partially offset by a drop in Lexapro sales. Three-month net revenues improved year-on-year to $832.94 million, from $821.13 million. Analysts estimated revenues of $808.00 million for the quarter.