Generic pharmaceutical company Akorn Inc.on Tuesday reported its first-quarter profit rose 46 percent to $8.5 million, or 8 cents a share, up from $5.8 million, or 6 cents a share in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue more than doubled to $51.7 million, up from $25.4 million in the year-ago period.
Excluding one-time items, Akorn posted earnings of 13 cents a share, beating by a penny the Wall Street estimate.
The fast-growing Lake Forest-based maker of ophthalmic drugs and hospital injectables benefited from new sales because of injectable drug shortages and the relaunch of certain drugs. Sales also benefited from Akorn’s acquisition of certain drugs from Lundbeck and Kilitch Drugs (India) Ltd.
Akorn Chief Executive Raj Rai said in a release that he expects growth to pick up in the second half of the year with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of Akorn’s generic version of the drug Vancomycin, which treats diarrhea and enterocolitis.
Akorn stock closed Monday at $12.22; shares are up 10.6 percent year-to-date.
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