Drug maker Elan posted a slightly better-than-expected third-quarter loss per share of $0.28 today and said it was optimistic it would return to profitability in 2006.
But Elan, whose shares collapsed two years ago amid worries over its accounts, posted revenues of $101.1 million that were well below the $110.3 million consensus forecast.
That may concern some analysts who had said ahead of the results that Elan needed to show that it could maintain existing revenues after the company sold off assets such as epilepsy treatment Zonegran and migraine drug Frovato to pay down debt.
However, Elan said the cash pile it has to tide itself over had grown slightly to $680.3 million by the end of September versus $677 million three months earlier.
Shares in the company, which have recovered from lows below €2 hit in mid-2002, were up 2.8 per cent at €20.21 in Dublin this morning, outperforming a 0.6 per cent rise for the broader Irish market.
As for new treatments needed to secure the Irish company's future, Elan said its focus was "on preparing for a successful launch of Antegren", which it hopes to bring on to the market early next year.
Having jointly developed Antegren with US firm Biogen Idec, Elan is awaiting regulatory approval for the drug as a Multiple Sclerosis treatment after it was fast-tracked by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.