ICN Pharmaceuticals Raises Dividend 1 Cent

Costa Mesa drug maker ICN Pharmaceuticals said Monday its directors boosted the quarterly dividend to 7 cents a share from 6 cents, payable April 28 to shareholders of record April 14.

The company posted a fourth-quarter loss of $218 million as it wrote off a Yugoslavian plant seized by Serbian troops. But other regions are performing well, and the company believes its drug ribavirin has a bright future as a hepatitis treatment. Last year, Schering-Plough Corp. won U.S. approval of a hepatitis treatment that combines ribavirin with Intron A.