QLT reports earnings

QLT (TSE:QLT; QLTI) reported first quarter GAAP EPS of $0.34, which includes a tax gain from its acquisition of Kinetek of $0.15 per share. Excluding the gain, QLT's EPS would be $0.19. The consensus estimate is $0.26, which QLT said is a mix of GAAP and non-GAAP estimates.

As reported last week by partner Novartis (NVS; SWX:NOVN), sales of Visudyne verteporfin were $101.1 million, up 23% from the same period in 2003. Visudyne is marketed for certain forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and QLT received a 31.8% share of Visudyne's sales in the first quarter. QLT's first quarter revenues came in at $41.3 million, up 25% from the first quarter of 2003. ...