Fiscal 1Q profit for Hi-Tech Pharma hikes 59%

Earlier on Wednesday, Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. Inc. announced that profits from generic drug sales resulted in a revenue rise of 59% during the company’s fiscal first-quarter.

In the three months that ended July 31, Hi-Tech earned $13.8 million, or $1.05 per share, which was comparable to a net income of $8.7 million, or 67 cents per share, in last year’s quarter.

Revenues jumped 43 percent to $56.2 million.

Factset surveyed analysts anticipated average revenues of 84 cents per share on $54.1 million.

Generic pharmaceuticals sales of the Amityville, N.Y.-based Company witnessed a rise of 52 percent to $48.9 million in the in the fiscal quarter. This jump could be attributed to sales rises of fluticasone propionate nasal spray, after the company sold more units at a higher average price. Hi-Tech’s nasal spray, a generic equivalent for the allergy treatment Flonase, increased revenues to nearly $26.2 million.

Earlier this year, the company launched generic versions of Neurontin and Levaquin, a seizure drug and an antibiotic, respectively.

Although the cost of products sold by the company caused a hike of 37 percent to about $23 million in the fiscal quarter, it declined as a percentage of sales due in part to the performance of the generic Flonase and higher-than-average margins on new launched products.

While broader trading indexes increased over 1 percent, Hi-Tech’s shares climbed 29 cents, about 1 percent, to $29.95 in afternoon trading.