Akorn posts $5.1 million third-quarter net loss

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Akorn reported a third-quarter net loss of $5.1 million, compared with a net profit of $2.4 million reported during the third quarter of 2008, according to a press release from the company.

The results included a $1.1 million charge for an alteration in the fair value of warrants issued in connection with Akorn's renegotiated revolving line of credit and subordinated debt, which was offset by a $1 million decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses from targeted cost reductions, the release said.

Akorn posted $19.4 million in third-quarter consolidated revenue, representing a 39% decline compared with $31.9 reported during the same period last year. Revenues stemming from sales in the company's ophthalmic business segment declined 6%, primarily due to wholesaler stock reductions, according to the release.

Third-quarter consolidated gross profit totaled $2.7 million, down from $9.9 million from last year's third quarter — a decline the company partly attributed to slowing ophthalmic sales.

"We are very pleased with the progress we have made this quarter," Raj Rai, interim CEO for Akorn, said in the release. "While we are on track to achieve the operational objectives we initiated in the second quarter, we are transitioning the company to generate higher margins from the sale of our core ophthalmic and hospital products and positive cash flow in the fourth quarter."

In the release, Akorn also announced the launch of a generic version of Acular (ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution, Allergan).