Forest Laboratories dips post quarterly loss beats estimates

Forest Laboratories Inc Thursday said it has posted a third-quarter loss wider than expected  by the analysts. The drugmaker fell 1.3% to $37.11 at 9:45 a.m. New York time, after falling to $36.20 in the biggest intraday drop since Oct 16.

The loss in the period ended Dec. 31 was 21 cents a share after one-time items were excluded, the  New York-based drug maker said. The results compared with an 8-cent loss that was the average of 23 analyst’s expectations.

The sales of the drugmaker dipped 42% to $678 million, missing the $774 million estimate of analysts.

The revenue of the company has been declining after protection ended on the antidepressant Lexapro, once it biggest-seller with more than $2 billion in annual sales.

The company is pushing to offset the decline with sale of newer drugs, including the lung treatment Tudorza and bowel disorder medicine Linzess.

An analyst said, “The bottom-line is that we view these near-term numbers as not overly meaningful as the focus remains on management’s ability to launch Tudorza and Linzess.” Its shares gained 22% in the 12 months through yesterday.

The company said it expects full-year profit at lower end of its forecast of 45 cents to 60 cents a share. The revenue may be $3.1 billion, the company said.

Forest Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures and sells branded forms of ethical drug products, most of which require a physician’s prescription.