Financial News

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Fred's on Wednesday reported $434.9 million in sales, up 3% for the third quarter ended Oct. 30. Comparable-store sales for the quarter increased 1.5%, compared with a 1% increase in the third quarter last year.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. Sales for generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals grew 33%, to $882.4 million, in third quarter 2010, according to an earnings report released Thursday.

The sales figure for the current quarter compared with $662.1 million in third quarter 2009. Profits were $105.9 million, compared with $90 million in third quarter 2009.

“Watson delivered another quarter of strong financial results and continued progress against our strategic objectives,” Watson president and CEO Paul Bisaro said.

BELLEVUE, Wash. Drugstore.com on Tuesday reported a 23% increase in net sales to $108.8 million for the third quarter ended Oct. 3.

DEERFIELD, Ill. October sales at Walgreens rose 3.7% to $5.85 billion, compared with the same month last year.

The drug store chain reported that Duane Reade stores, which the company acquired in April, contributed 2.8 percentage points to the total sales increase for the month.

Calendar day shifts negatively impacted the drug store chain's comparable sales, as same-store sales dropped 1.3% and comparable-pharmacy sales decreased 1.6%, despite the fact that Walgreens' October pharmacy sales increased 2.5%.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. Earnings per share for AmerisourceBergen rose nearly 14% during the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, thanks to key growth in two sectors, the pharmaceutical services company said.

Diluted earnings per share were 50 cents for the quarter, a 13.6% increase compared with the year-ago period. Revenue also increased to a record $19.7 billion, a 5.3% gain for the company.

CHADDS FORD, Pa. Strong generic sales helped Endo edge analyst expectations for the third quarter, the company noted.

Net income reached $54.2 million, compared with $49.4 million during the period ended Sept. 30. Net sales jumped 23% to $444.1 million, versus $361 million during the same period a year ago. Analysts had estimated sales of $443.36 million for the quarter.

TEL AVIV, Israel Two months of Ratiopharm sales on the books and strong growth in the United States helped Teva beat third-quarter profit estimates, with sales up 20% to $4.25 billion, from $3.55 billion during the same period one year ago.