Endo raises 2014 outlook again, Q3 profit beats Street
* Raises 2014 profit, revenue outlook for third time
* Q3 EPS, revenue handsomely beats Street
* Generic drug rebates could hurt Q4 profit - management (Adds analyst comments, updates shares)
By Natalie Grover
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Endo International Plc raised its 2014 profit and sales forecast for the third time as recent acquisitions helped boost its generic drug sales in the United States by nearly 74 percent in the third quarter.
Shares of the company, which also makes medical devices, rose over 3 percent in premarket trade as the strong sales also contributed to better-than-expected profit in the quarter.
But the stock reversed course to trade down as much as 3.1 percent after Endo, in a post-earnings call, said current-quarter profit would be hurt by "rebating in the generics business".
Sterne Agee's Shibani Malhotra termed the stock dip a "misunderstanding" and recommended taking advantage of the weakness.
Generic drugmakers usually combat competition by offering rebates off invoice prices - providing an incentive for pharmacies to select their products over another.
"They indicated fourth-quarter generics business might be lighter because of some pricing dynamics in the controlled-substances space, but that seems to be a quarter issue," Stifel Nicolaus & Co analyst Annabel Samimy told Reuters.
The company, which last month clinched a deal to buy Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc, raised its 2014 adjusted profit forecast to $4.10-$4.25 per share from $4.00-$4.20 per share earlier.
It also raised its sales outlook for the year to $2.80-$2.88 billion from $2.78-$2.86 billion.
Endo earned $319.4 million in U.S. generic drugs sales in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $183.94 million a year earlier, benefiting from its acquisitions of Boca Pharmacal and DAVA Pharmaceuticals.
It also gained from higher sales of its generic version of its own pain patch, Lidoderm.
Dublin-based Endo last month said it would buy Auxilium for $1.67 billion to bolster its men's healthcare business.
Endo's adjusted net income rose 13.4 percent to $182.3 million. On a per-share basis, however, profit fell to $1.15 from $1.34 due to a 32 percent increase in its share count.
Revenue rose 15.5 percent to $763.9 million.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.00 per share on revenue of about $725.71 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of Endo International, formerly known as Endo Health Solutions, were down 0.9 percent at $68.05 midday on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
