Valeant Claims Progress, Asks Investors For Patience

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has made important debt-reduction progress, meeting its goal ahead of schedule, but the company's near-term growth story remains lackluster. The company told investors during a fourth quarter sales and earnings call that revenues will continue to decline in 2018, but pointed to a "significant seven" of newer products and some yet-to-be-approved opportunities that will drive its return to sales growth from 2019 through 2021.

The Laval, Quebec, specialty pharma still faces massive debt – although most now has been pushed back several years –...