Warner Chilcott, which is 25 per cent owned by Elan and employs five people in Dublin, said its net loss in the second quarter narrowed to $6.9 million from $7.4 million in the first three months of the year, helped by strong growth in the sales of branded products.
But losses widened from the $5.6 million reported in the second quarter of last year.
The company, which develops and markets prescription pharmaceutical products, said sales of its branded products, including its prescription-strength pre-natal vitamin NataFort, continued to build momentum in the second quarter while the company also developed and strengthened its sales force.
Revenue from the sale of branded products was $4.4 million, up 33 per cent on the first quarter of 1998 and 5.3 per cent higher than the same period last year.
But total revenue declined to $12.4 million from $20.6 million in the second quarter of 1997 as the strong growth of branded products sales was more than offset by declines in the company's non-differentiated generic business.
Gross margins improved to 37.1 per cent in the quarter from 18.8 per cent in the second quarter last year, reflecting the continuing shift in the mix of the company's revenues toward higher-margin branded products. The net loss per share narrowed to $0.56 from $0.97 at the same time last year.
The company said it had signed an important agreement with Schering Plough under which it began promoting two of Schering Plough's cardiovascular products from July 1st.
"As we look ahead, we expect to continue to add to the portfolio of products marketed by Warner Chilcott through internal development, collaboration with partners, in-licensing and other arrangements similar to our promotion agreement with Schering Plough," the company said.
