Valeant cuts full-year sales forecast, as revenue drops 8 percent in second quarter

Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday that second-quarter sales fell 8 percent year-over-year to $2.2 billion, meeting analyst estimates, as revenue from branded drugs and the company's Bausch + Lomb/international segment both declined. Valeant posted a quarterly loss of $38 million, narrowed from a loss of $302 million in the year-ago period, with the drugmaker's shares rising nearly as much as 8 percent on the news.

For the full year, the company said it now expects sales of between $8.7 billion and $8.9 billion, cut from an earlier forecast of $8.9 billion to $9.1 billion. Valeant said that the revised guidance partly reflects the sale of Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, which was completed in June. The drugmaker used net proceeds from the divestiture to pay down $811 million of debt, with Valeant indicating that it expects to repay more than $5 billion in debt by February.

Valeant also recently agreed to sell iNova Pharmaceuticals and Obagi Medical Products for $930 million and $190 million in cash, respectively, with both transactions set to close in the second half of 2017. CEO Joseph Papa remarked "we are continuing to reduce debt and resolve legacy issues," adding "the investments we are making in our core business are delivering results."

In the three-month period, sales in the Bausch + Lomb/international unit dropped 3 percent to $1.2 billion, while revenue from the branded drugs division fell by the same percentage to $636 million. Valeant added that sales in its Salix division climbed 13 percent to $387 million, boosted by revenue from Xifaxan, which climbed 16 percent year-over-year.