Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: AMPH) stock lost over 12.7% on March 13th, 2019 (as of 12:27 pm GMT-4; Source: Google finance). The selling, distribution expense will increase significantly as the company plan to spend at least $1 million dollars every quarter on marketing expenses related to Primatene Mist. The company expect G&A spending increases related to compliance costs and legal expenses associated with tariff [ph] or patent challenges at the upcoming trial. The company expect research and development spending will continue to increase in both dollar terms and as a percentage of sales as the company currently have one inhalation clinical trial ongoing and a trial for the first insulin product is planned for later this year.
The company reported adjusted net income of $6.2 million compared to an adjusted net income of approximately $4.1 million in the fourth quarter of last year. AMPH in the fourth quarter of FY 18 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 13 cents, while adjusted revenue growth of 48 percent to $89.7 million in the fourth quarter of FY 18
Sales of enoxaparin rose to $19.1 million from $11.3 million. The enoxaparin market shortage the company had experienced during the third quarter continued into November and the company sold more units at higher noncontract prices again in the fourth quarter. Medroxyprogesterone launched in January 2018 had sales of $7.4 million during the quarter. Perhaps most importantly, the company launched Primatene Mist and recorded sales of $3.6 million as the company loaded the product nationally into Walgreens and CVS. Gross margins improved year-over-year due to sales of newly launched higher margin products such as medroxyprogesterone, Primatene Mist and isoproterenol.
For FY 19, AMPH expect sales growth to be driven by Primatene Mist and one or two ANDAs which may be approved later this year. The consensus sales estimate for 2019 is nearly $350 million which will be difficult to reach without strong Primatene sales and at least two ANDA approvals.
AMPH expect gross margins to increase as the company sell more Primatene Mist. During the fourth quarter the company had repurchased approximately $2.6 million of stock to bring total repurchases for the year to over $25 million.