Why Lannett Company, Inc. Jumped Higher Today
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What: Shares of Lannett Company (NYSE: LCI) are up 14% at 12:54 p.m. EDT Wednesday after reporting solid fiscal fourth quarter earnings and guidance for its next fiscal year after the bell on Tuesday.
So what: Sales by the generic-drug maker increased 70% year over year thanks to the acquisition of Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals, which was added last November. Management highlighted growth in sales of its drugs forthyroid deficiency as a key driver to the higher sales. The year-over-year comparison also benefited from the sales of clarithromycin, which was launched in the fiscal third quarter.
Lannett took on debt to make the acquisition, so the bottom line didn't look nearly as impressive. Fiscal fourth quarter adjusted net income came in at $27.5 million, or $0.73 per share, lower than the $35.2 million, or $0.94 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
The company refinanced its $250 million senior notes that Lannett was paying 12% interest on, which should help more of the operating income drop down to the bottom line in future quarters.
Now what: As Lannett enters its next fiscal year, management gave guidance of sales between $690 million and $700 million, which is substantially higher than the $566 million the drugmaker sold in the recently completed fiscal year, but keep in mind that didn't include sales from Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals for nearly five months.
Management did offer an apples-to-apples comparison for the bottom line, noting that earnings would have a growth rate in the mid-teens compared to the second half of its recently completed fiscal year, which included sales from Kremers' products.
Most impressively the guidance could end up being conservative since the company didn't include any sales from drugs with applications pending at the FDA.
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