LIONVILLE, Pa. (Aug. 4) — Medical components manufacturer West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. reported net earnings of $20.7 million in the second quarter, up nearly 62 percent from the like period of 2005.
Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations came in at 62 cents, up from 38 cents a year earlier. West posted net sales of $240.2 million during the period, up 38.8 percent from 2005. The EPS and sales figures represented records for the company.
"The second quarter performance reflects the strength of the underlying markets for our injection-related products," said Donald E. Morel Jr., West chairman and CEO. "That is driven primarily by increasing demand for injectable therapeutics and growing patient populations within key therapeutic product categories, for which our coated and Westar-brand-treated products are setting the standard.
"We are moving forward with plans to make significant investments over the next three years in our global manufacturing infrastructure in order to continue to participate in and build on that growth."
For the first six months of 2006, West reported net income of $38.8 million, up 48.7 percent from the year before. Net sales were $463 million, a 43.6-percent rise from 2005.
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the half-year came in at $1.10. The company expects diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be between $1.82 and $1.88 for the year, excluding a 12 cents per diluted share after-tax charge for early extinguishment of debt and a 13 cents per diluted share tax benefit that related primarily to discontinued operations
Both of those changes were reported in the first quarter of 2006.