Tuesday, Vancouver, Canada-based biopharmaceutical company QLT Inc. (QLTI, QLT.TO) reported a swing to profit from a loss a year ago, benefiting from robust Eligard sales, foreign exchange gains, and the absence of restructuring charges. The company also boosted its full year sales forecast for Eligard.
QLT posted a second-quarter net income of US$8.63 million or US$0.16 per share, compared to a net loss of US$7.44 million or US$0.10 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.05 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Non-GAAP earnings per share was US$0.08, which was significantly lower than the GAAP earnings per share as the non-cash foreign exchange gain related to the intercompany loan was eliminated, QLT said.
The company noted that the year-over-year improvement in earnings was driven by higher revenue from Eligard, a large foreign exchange gain of US$6.73 million, a more favorable effective tax rate, elimination of the prior-year loss from discontinued operations, and the absence of restructuring charges. In the year-ago period, the company recorded charges of US$1.87 million.
Quarterly revenues rose 7.8% to US$33 million from US$30.62 million a year ago, driven by higher sales of Eligard, which more than offset a 21.6% decline in revenue from Visudyne.
Bob Butchofsky, president and chief executive officer of QLT, said, "We are pleased to report another strong financial quarter, with robust Eligard sales of US$67.6 million, sequential Visudyne sales growth of 4% compared to the first quarter, and adjusted EBITDA of US$7.3 million."
Visudyne sales dipped 28.7% to US$29.0 million for the quarter, compared to sales in the same period last year. Sales in the U.S. were US$8.6 million, down 15.2% from the prior-year second quarter, while sales outside the U.S. were US$20.4 million, down 33.2% from the prior-year second quarter. The drop in Visudyne sales was primarily due to the approval and reimbursement in Europe of alternative therapeutics for age-related macular degeneration
Worldwide Eligard sales were US$67.6 million in the quarter, an increase of 12.1% over the second quarter of 2008. U.S. sales were up 5.8% to US$21.1 million from last year, while sales outside the U.S. increased 15.2% to US$46.6 million.
For the first half, the company reported a net income of US$9.93 million or US$0.17 per share, compared to a net loss of US$17.90 million or US$0.02 per share in the comparable period a year ago. Revenues increased to US$63.1 million from US$57.31 million in the corresponding period last year.
Based on strong first half results, QLT lifted its full-year 2009 guidance for Eligard sales to a range of US$240 million - US$255 million from its previous guidance range of US$220 million - US$240 million. The company also increased its adjusted EBITDA outlook to a range of US$15 million to US$20 million for the year from the original guidance range of US$10 million - US$15 million.
QLTI is trading on Nasdaq at $3.30, down $0.06 or 1.79%, on a volume of about 990 thousand shares.
The stock is trading on TSX at C$3.58, down C$0.16 or 4.28%, on a volume of about 193 thousand shares.
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