Cephalon Raises Sales Targets

Updated from 5:44 p.m. EST

Cephalon (CEPH) reported second-quarter earnings and sales Thursday that easily beat Wall Street estimates.

"We are well positioned for strong future growth," said Frank Baldino Jr., chairman and CEO, as his company raised its full-year earnings per share guidance.

However, the company also said 2007 would be a "transitional year" because its cancer-pain drug Actiq will face generic competition and marketing of new drugs will mean higher expenses.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, Cephalon earned $1.61 a share on sales of $469.1 million, excluding one-time items that affected both revenue and profits. The figures included the impact of stock options. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had predicted earnings of $1.16 on sales of $434.3 million.

Once all items were factored in, Cephalon earned $95.7 million, or $1.43 a share, on sales of $482.3 million. For the same period last year, the company earned $29.3 million, or 50 cents a share, on revenue of $309.6 million.

Financial results were released after markets had closed. In regular trading, Cephalon closed at $70.25, up 31 cents. After hours, the stock lost 90 cents.

The third quarter was paced by the sleep-disorders drug Provigil, which recorded sales of $197.6 million, up 47% from the year-ago period. Sales of pain medications, primarily Actiq, rose 80% to $181.7 million.