Profit Drops, But Sales Rise at Orange Firm : Finances: Bergen Brunswig reports that second-quarter earnings were down, but revenue was up a record 40%.

Bergen Brunswig Corp. on Monday reported lower quarterly profit but strong sales growth after last year’s acquisition of an Alabama competitor.

The drug wholesaler, based in Orange, said it had three-month earnings of $12.8 million, or 34 cents a share, a 25% drop from a profit of $17 million, or 42 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier.

The drop in earnings was partly because of a loss of $2.6 million, or 6 cents a share, from early retirement of $216 million in convertible zero coupon-subordinated debentures. The comparison also shows a decline, the company said, because last year’s quarterly earnings included a $1.5-million addition from discontinued operations.

Quarterly revenue, however, was up a record 40%. For its second fiscal quarter, which ended Feb. 28, the company posted $1.7 billion in sales, up from $1.22 billion for the same period a year earlier. The company attributed the gain to an increase in revenue since its September, 1992, acquisition of Durr-Fillauer Medical Inc. in Montgomery, Ala. For the first six months of the fiscal year, the company reported earnings of $24.7 million, or 66 cents a share, down slightly from $25.9 million, or 65 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Income for the period last year included a $3.8-million gain because of discontinued operations. Six-month revenue was $3.3 billion, a jump from revenue of $2.37 billion for the first half of last year.

In Monday’s trading on the American Stock Exchange, Bergen Brunswig shares lost 75 cents apiece to close at $20.875.