Lundbeck sees second quarter falls

Danish pharmaceutical group Lundbeck posted a greater than forecast fall in second quarter operating profits last week, as rising costs and lower than expected US sales adversely hit results.

The firm saw a 47 per cent decline in its operating profits for the second quarter of 2006. It attributed the fall to an extraordinary decline in income from its Lexapro product, as well as rising research and development costs, as well as a lift in sales and administrative expenses.

The company reported that second quarter consolidated income stood at 2,198 million Danish crowns, equivalent to a four per cent decline from the same period of 2005. Although European growth was up nine per cent from the year before, US revenue declined by 35 per cent over the period.

Lundbeck repeated its full-year guidance of a 27 per cent fall in earnings to 1.6 billion Danish crowns. The group said: “In addition to the extraordinary decline in income from Lexapro in 2006, the lower profit was caused by higher research and development costs and higher costs of sales and administrative expenses.”

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