King Pharmaceuticals posts $85M profit in 3Q

BRISTOL, Tenn. - King Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a third-quarter profit Thursday on lower operating expenses and one-time costs, compared with a loss in the same period last year.

For the period ended Sept. 30 King earned $85 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $41 million, or 17 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Excluding one-time charges, the company said it would have earned $82 million, or 33 cents per share, down from $128 million, or 52 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 33 cents per share.

Earnings for the third quarter of 2007 were affected by asset impairments, excess inventory and restructuring costs that lowered earnings nearly 17 cents per share.

Revenue for the latest quarter plummeted to $388 million from $545 million in the comparable period. The company said the decrease was mainly due to competition to its blood-pressure medication Altace. A court overturned a patent supporting the drug last September.

The company offset the lower sales with tighter sales and administrative expenses.

Shares of King Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose 2 cents Thursday to $9.08 in morning trading.

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