Irish drugmaker Alkermes PLC’s fiscal-first quarter earnings were down about 67 percent compared to last year, when the Irish drugmaker booked $20 million in intellectual property license revenue.
Alkermes earned $7.3 million, or 5 cents per share, in the three months that ended June 30. That compares to earnings of $22.4 million, or 17 cents per share, in last year’s quarter. Adjusted earnings, which exclude things like depreciation and amortization expenses, totaled 30 cents per share in the latest quarter.
Revenue fell 9 percent to $138.6 million for the company, which is switching from a fiscal year that ends in March to a calendar year that concludes Dec. 31.
Analysts expected, on average, adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share on $151.9 million in revenue, according to FactSet.
The drugmaker actually did better than the 23 cents per share in adjusted earnings that MKM Partners analyst Dr. Jon LeCroy was expecting. He said the company’s operating costs also came in lower than he expected, and the addiction treatment Vivitrol did “extremely well.”
Vivitrol revenue climbed 40 percent to $17.4 million. Manufacturing and royalty revenues from Alkermes’ long-acting atypical antipsychotic franchise climbed 16 percent to $56.2 million.
Total expenses also climbed 4 percent to $125.1 million.
The company’s U.S.-traded shares climbed 4.5 percent, or $1.31, to $30.48 in afternoon trading, while the Nasdaq exchange rose less than 1 percent. Thursday’s gain helped put the stock price up about 65 percent so far this year.
