Shire ups sales outlook as shares reach 2-month high

By Michael Kahn

LONDON (Reuters) - Shire (SHP.L) posted second-quarter results that topped analyst expectations on sales of its older attention deficit disorder (ADHD) drug Adderall XR, and raised its sales forecast for the full year.

Shares of the country's third-biggest drugmaker rose to a two-month high after the company also backed the 2008 outlook for its new ADHD drug hope Vyvanse, implying stronger growth for the key treatment in the second half of the year.

Shire shares were trading up 4 percent at 836 pence at 1:01 p.m. on Thursday, having risen as high as 866-1/2p, their highest since late May.

Shire's underlying earnings per share rose to 95 cents from 56 cents a year ago on revenue up 35 percent to $776 million (392 million pounds). Adderall XR sales increased 16 percent to $296 million, while Vyvanse revenue came in at $65 million.

This was above the expectations of many analysts, including Jeremy Batstone at Charles Stanley Equity Research who said he had been looking for second-quarter revenue of $680 million and adjusted earnings per share of 80 cents.

"The two main surprises (were) revenue guidance has been upgraded and that Vyvanse was going to come in at the bottom end of the range the company had already given," he said in a telephone interview.

"Given Vyvanse's performance over the second quarter, if they pull it off it will be a heroic performance."

The company said it now expects 2008 revenue to rise at least 20 percent, up from a previous outlook for growth in the mid to high teens.