Valeant turns 3Q profit after paring business

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said Thursday it turned a profit in the third quarter after selling its businesses in western and eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The company decided early this year that it was operating in too many regions and went on to sell its businesses in the Asia Pacific region and Argentina, along with non-central Europe, Africa and the Middle East. That resulted in a gain of $178.5 million in the third quarter and helped the company post a profit of $208.7 million, or $2.35 per share, compared with a loss of $12.1 million, or 13 cents per share a year earlier.

Valeant said it lost 4 cents per share from continuing operations, slightly less than a year ago, as revenue edged up 3 percent to $168.4 million from $164.3 million. Excluding one-time charges for debt retirement, restructuring and taxes, the company said it earned a profit of 11 cents per share.

On average, Thomson Financial reports that analysts expected a profit of 17 cents per share on $209.9 million in revenue.

Sales in North America ticked down 2 percent, to $637 million, including a charge to cover expected returns of products. International sales slowed 10 percent to $49 million. Sales in the central Europe region, where Valeant maintained its business, got a boost from currency exchanges and rose 32 percent to $40.4 million.

Excluding the divested business and the reserve change, Valeant said North American sales grew 9 percent and international sales grew 2 percent.

In morning trading, Valeant stock gained 37 cents, or 2 percent, to $18.70.

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