Generic drugmaker Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (WPI) on Thursday forecast 2010 revenue slightly above and earnings in line with current Wall Street expectations.
Predicting continued growth in its Generics, Brand and Distribution businesses, the company said it expects revenues of about $3.5 billion and cash earnings of $3.05 to $3.30 per share for the full year 2010.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently expect the company to earn $3.14 per share on revenue of $3.44 billion for the full year 2010.
For 2010, Watson forecast total Generic segment revenue of about $2.3 billion, total Brand segment revenue of about $460 million and total Distribution segment revenue of about $700 million.
Paul Bisaro, Watson's president and chief executive officer, said, "We are in a strong position to deliver sustainable adjusted EBITDA and cash earnings per share growth in 2010 and beyond by leveraging the strengths of our mixed generics and brand business model."
The company provided these outlooks in conjunction with an Investor Day meeting held in New York, and it came a week after the company said it expected to meet or exceed its 2009 adjusted earnings outlook and forecast a 9% revenue growth for 2009.
The company noted that the preliminary 2009 results reflected strong contributions from Watson's new generic and brand products, as well as significant growth in the company's distribution revenue in the fourth quarter.
The company is scheduled to report fourth quarter and full year 2009 results on February 23.
Watson completed its acquisition of Arrow Group early last month to bolster its international generics presence. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings in 2010.
Watson added 20 products to its U.S. generic portfolio as a result of the Arrow acquisition, with such key products as Ramipril, Isradipine, Ciprofloxacin and Acarbose. The company currently markets over 170 generic prescription product families in the U.S.
Watson said Thursday it filed 36 Abbreviated New Drug Applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during 2009, including a recently filed application for Lidocaine Topical Patch 5%, a generic version of Endo Pharmaceutical's (ENDO) Lidoderm product.
The company currently has more than 100 Abbreviated New Drug Applications on file in the U.S., and expects to submit more than 100 product applications worldwide in 2010.
Watson shares are currently trading at $40.60, down 94 cents or 2.26%.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.