Sales & Earnings In Brief

Private-label prosperity picks up Perrigo: The Allegan, Mich.-based firm says its consumer health care segment sales grew 12 percent to $419.1 million during its fiscal 2009 third quarter, including a $39 million increase attributable to the acquisitions of JB Labs, Unico Holdings, Laboratorios Diba and Brunel Pharma. "Consumers are realizing the value of store brands in a challenging economy," said President and CEO Joseph Papa, citing 11.7 percent growth of the U.S. OTC store brand market in the quarter. "Perrigo is uniquely positioned to deliver that value to consumers," he added during a May 7 earnings call. The private labeler reported net sales of $505.9 million for the January-March period, up 5.3 percent from $480.6 million, and setting a company quarterly earnings per-share record of 50 cents, up from 42 cents in the year-ago quarter. Papa touted the nearly 40 percent market share of omeprazole, equivalent to Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC, and added that Perrigo projects full-year sales of that generic to reach the high end of its guidance range of $150 million to $200 million (1"The Tan Sheet" Feb. 9, 2009, p. 12). Perrigo also announced it is seeking to divest its Israel consumer products segment, which includes Careline beauty brands. Sales for the Israel business dropped 22 percent to $18 million from $23 million during the quarter