Sales Climb at Cephalon

Updated from 5:50 p.m. EDT

Cephalon(CEPH) said Thursday that second-quarter sales jumped 58% over the same period last year, prompting the company to raise its full-year guidance.

For the three months ended June 30, revenue climbed to $440.1 million from $286 million in the same period a year ago.

Cephalon took some of the surprise out of the strong second quarter by announcing last week that sales would top its guidance and analysts' estimates. The Frazer, Pa., company also increased its full-year its earnings forecast to a range of $4.10 to $4.30 a share, excluding one-time items. The previous EPS prediction was $3.80 to $4.

The company's projections exclude the dilutive impact of employee stock options and convertible notes. Thus, the company identifies its profits as basic earnings per share rather than the more commonly used and widely accepted diluted earnings per share. Cephalon says basic earnings per share offers a better measure of its performance.

Cephalon also raised its full-year sales guidance by $50 million to a range of $1.53 billion to $1.58 billion.

For the third quarter, Cephalon anticipates a basic EPS of $1.25 to $1.35 and sales of $425 million to $440 million.

Before items, the company earned $97.6 million, or $1.61 a basic share, in the most recent quarter. On a diluted basis, the company earned $1.46 a share. When calculated using generally accepted accounting principles, Cephalon earned $55.4 million, or 83 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $249 million, or $4.29 a share, a year ago.

"Both sales and earnings for the second quarter were exceptional, in part due to our decision earlier this year to reinvigorate Provigil marketing activity," said Frank Baldino Jr., Cepahlon's chairman and CEO. "We also made significant strides in executing our long-term diversification strategy, with the launch of Vivitrol for treating alcohol dependence."