Indivior quarterly profit rises, on track to meet FY revenue targets

(Reuters) - British drugmaker Indivior's third-quarter adjusted operating profit rose 13 percent, led by lower legal and research expenses and savings from a cost-cut program launched in July.

The company, which posted a 11 percent drop in quarterly revenue, said it was on track to meet its revised full-year targets for revenue, net income and sales of its new injectable opioid addiction drug, Sublocade.

Indivior has been battling the introduction of a cheaper copycat of its film-based blockbuster opioid addiction Suboxone by India's Dr.Reddy's Laboratories and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Adjusted operating profit rose to $71 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $63 million a year earlier. Adjusted net income rose 22 percent to $58 million, ahead of the $49 million consensus, according to Jefferies.

 

Revenue came in at $245 million, compared with $275 million a year earlier and beat estimates by 3 percent.

Indivior's shares, which have more than halved in value so far this year, were down 3 percent in choppy trading.

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Arun Koyyur)