MONTVALE, N.J.—Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. slashed its 2008 forecast Thursday after reporting that first-quarter earnings failed to meet expectations as the company's U.S. generic contraceptive sales fell.
Barr now expects 2008 earnings per share to range from $2.75 to $3.05, compared with its previous prediction of $3.05 to $3.35.
The company expects full-year revenue to range from $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of $3.27 per share on revenue of $2.78 billion.
Barr attributed the reduction to its lower-than-expected first-quarter results and lower-than-anticipated U.S. generic revenue. The company said it does not expect those factors to be completely offset by the expected launch of generic birth-control pill Yasmin in mid-2008.
Barr shares plunged $7.40, or 14.9 percent, to $42.25 in premarket trading, after closing Wednesday at $49.65. The stock has traded between $45.33 and $58.38 during the past 52 weeks.
