Biostar Pharmaceuticals' shares up 23% as Q4 profit triples
Biostar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BSPM) said Friday its fourth quarter profit more than tripled due to strong sales of its flagship hepatitis B drug, prompting a huge spike in the company's share price.
For the fourth quarter ending December 31, the China-based pharmaceutical drug manufacturer reported net income of $6.1 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, up from $1.7 million, or 7 cents per diluted share, in the year ago period.
On an adjusted basis, earnings for the quarter were 24 cents per diluted share, beating analyst estimates of 22 cents a share.
Revenue rose 66% to about $28.2 million, exceeding analyst estimates of $27.6 million.
The increase in revenue was helped by 57% sales growth from the company's Xin Aoxing hepatitis B drug, which accounted for two-thirds of the period's revenue.
Sales of the company's Gan Wang cold treatment drug also improved by 37% to $2.2 million.
Biostar continued to expand its distribution channel in Chinese rural communities during the quarter, with its products now being sold at 10,000 locations. The company expects that number to grow to 13,000 in 2011, it said.
For the full year, earnings rose 66% to $17.4 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, from $10.5 million, or 32 cents per diluted share, in 2009. Revenues soared 50% year-over-year to $80.2 million.
Since the announcement, the company's shares jumped nearly 23% to trade at $2.72 as of 12:22 pm EST.
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