‘88 a Strong Year for ICN, Subsidiaries

Fiscal 1988 was a very good year for ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Costa Mesa and its three subsidiaries, company officials said Monday.

For the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, the parent company reported a 37% increase in sales, which rose to $166 million from $121 million in fiscal 1987. Net income for fiscal 1988 reached $17.8 million, up from a loss of $16.6 million in the previous year.

“Earnings benefited from a strong performance by SPI Pharmaceuticals, its pharmaceutical marketing subsidiary,” company officials said in a prepared statement, which added that “1988 net income benefited from repurchase of the company’s debt on the open market.”

Fourth-quarter results for ICN Pharmaceuticals were also high in fiscal 1988. Net income for the quarter rose to $554,000, up from a loss of $22 million in the previous year. The company posted sales of $49 million for the three months ended Nov. 30, up 31% from the $37.3 million reported in the same period in 1987.

ICN attributed its 1987 loss to a decline in the value of the company’s holdings in government and corporate bonds, which were battered following the October, 1987, stock market crash.

SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of drug products, reported a 20% increase in net income for fiscal 1988, to $10.2 million from $8.5 million. Sales increased 47%, to $115.9 million from $78.6 million in fiscal 1987.

Net income for SPI rocketed to $3.6 million in the fourth quarter, up from $311,000 for the same three months in 1987. SPI’s fourth-quarter sales rose to $36.1 million in fiscal 1988, up 38% from the $26.1 million reported for the same period in 1987.

Viratek Inc., which develops pharmaceutical compounds derived from nucleic acids, lost $6.2 million in for the fiscal year, compared to a loss of $11 million in 1987. The company reported sales of $2.3 million in fiscal 1988, up 64% from the $1.4 million posted in fiscal 1987.

In the fourth quarter, Viratek reported net income for the period of $420,000, compared to a loss of $3.145 million in the previous year. The company posted sales of $2.1 million, more than double the $795,000 reported for the same three months in 1987.

And finally, ICN Biomedicals Inc. showed improved sales in fiscal 1988, but income fell a small amount for the year. Net income dropped to $3.6 million, down 8% from the $3.9 million posted in fiscal 1987. Sales for the year rose to $50.4 million, up 10% from the $42.7 million reported in fiscal 1987.

The fourth quarter was the key. Net income fell to $163,000, down 85% from the previous year, while sales increased 6% to $12.9 million in the final three months of the year, up from $12.2 million in 1987.