American Oriental Bioengineering shares soar on 1Q earnings

NEW YORK—Shares of pharmaceutical company American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. soared Wednesday after the company said its first-quarter profit surged on strong sales of its prescription and over-the-counter products.

Shares of American Oriental rose $2.06, or 22 percent, to close at $11.44. They have traded in a 52-week range of $6.83 to $14.48.

During the quarter, the company earned $9.4 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $6.4 million, or 10 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

Revenue rose 51 percent to $38.8 million from $25.7 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 12 cents per share on revenue of $38 million.

American Oriental said the increase in revenue resulted from a nearly 72 percent jump in pharmaceutical product sales and a 138 percent increase in over-the-counter product sales.

Chief Executive Officer Tony Liu said that the company projects full-year revenue of at least $245 million, a 50 percent increase over 2007, as well as net income of at least $62 million, which represents a 43 percent increase from 2007.

Brean Murray Carret & Co. analyst Alex Xu said that the company's full-year guidance is conservative.

"Given the company;s aggressive acquisition pipeline, we see potential upside to the guidance," Xu wrote. He has a "Buy" rating on shares and a $19 price target.

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