Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2011 Financial Results

CARY, NC--(Marketwire - November 03, 2011) - Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRTX)

  • CUROSURF® net product sales increased 16% in the third quarter compared to the same quarter in 2010
  • Strategic products' net sales grew 9% and 11% for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2010
  • Appointed Ken McBean as President

Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRTX) today reported net product sales from strategic products grew 9% and 11% for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2010. Net product sales from strategic products were 77% of total net product sales, or $19.3 million, for the third quarter of 2011, an increase from the 67% of total net product sales, or $17.7 million, for the third quarter of 2010. Net product sales from strategic products were 71% of total net product sales, or $59.0 million, for the first nine months of 2011, an increase from the 58% of total net product sales, or $53.3 million, for the first nine months of 2010. Overall, total net revenues were $25.2 million for the third quarter of 2011, compared to $27.9 million for the third quarter of 2010, and total net revenues for the first nine months of 2011 were $83.2 million, compared to $92.8 million for the same period in 2010.

Net income was $0.1 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2011, compared to a net income of $0.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2010. For the first nine months of 2011, net income was $2.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.4 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the first nine months of 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $3.4 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2011, compared to non-GAAP net income of $3.8 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2010. For the first nine months of 2011, on a non-GAAP basis, net income was $11.8 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $13.8 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, for the first nine months of 2010. Non-GAAP net income and net income per diluted share exclude amortization of product rights and stock-based compensation expense.

"We believe results from the quarter, including the growth of our core products and our overall product sales mix, demonstrate the continuing execution of our strategic plan," said Craig A. Collard, Cornerstone's Chief Executive Officer. "Going forward, our number one priority is closing a transaction that supports our plans for growth."

A breakdown of net revenues for the third quarter and first nine months of 2011 (in thousands, except percentages) follows:

                                                                            
                                                                            
             Three Months                     Nine Months                   
                Ended                            Ended                      
             September 30,     Change        September 30,      Change      
           --------------- --------------- ---------------- ----------------
             2011    2010     $       %      2011     2010      $       %   
           ------- ------- -------- ------ -------- ------- --------- ------
                                                                            
Net                                                                         
 Product                                                                    
 Sales                                                                      
 Curosurf  $ 9,347 $ 8,051 $ 1,296    16%  $25,402  $23,767 $  1,635     7% 
 Zyflo(R)                                                                   
  product                                                                   
  family     8,316   7,574     742    10    22,313   21,855      458     2  
 Factive(R)    763     850     (87)  (10)    5,227    4,163    1,064    26  
 Spectracef(R)
  product                                                                   
  family       882   1,194    (312)  (26)    6,051    3,478    2,573    74  
           ------- -------  -------        -------- -------  --------       
 Total 
  strategic                                               
  products  19,308  17,669   1,639     9    58,993   53,263    5,730    11  
                                                                            
 AlleRx(R)                                                                  
  Dose                                                                      
  Pack                                                                      
  products   5,437   3,812   1,625    43    26,191   22,105    4,086    18  
 HyoMax(R)                                                                  
  product                                                                   
  family       359   2,002  (1,643)  (82)    1,770    7,801   (6,031)  (77) 
 Other                                                                      
  products      74   2,927  (2,853)  (97)   (3,837)   8,093  (11,930) (147) 
           ------- -------  -------        -------- -------  --------       
 Total net                                                                  
  product                                                                   
  sales     25,178  26,410  (1,232)   (5)   83,117   91,262   (8,145)   (9) 
License                                                                     
 and                                                                        
 royalty                                                                    
 agreement                                                                  
 revenues        2   1,522  (1,520) (100)       99    1,541   (1,442)  (94) 
           ------- -------  -------        -------- -------  --------       
Net                                                                         
 Revenues  $25,180 $27,932 $(2,752)  (10)% $83,216  $92,803 $ (9,587)  (10)%
           ======= ======= ========        ======== =======  ========       
                                                                            

Gross margin (exclusive of license and royalty agreement revenues and amortization of product rights) was 67% for the third quarter of 2011, compared to 71% for the comparable period of 2010. The lower gross margin for the third quarter of 2011 was primarily due to a higher percentage of total net sales coming from products having lower gross margins, specifically Curosurf.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $1.6 million, or 13%, in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the third quarter of 2010. The decrease was primarily due to reduced marketing and spending for Factive and Zyflo CR and decreased co-promotion expenses related to our propoxyphene/acetaminophen products, which were withdrawn from the market in November of 2010.

Royalty expenses decreased $1.0 million, or 38%, during the third quarter of 2011 compared to the third quarter of 2010. The reduction in royalty expense was primarily due to the reduction in net product sales from our HyoMax products and the voluntary withdrawal of our propoxyphene/acetaminophen products, partially offset by increased net product sales of AlleRx Dose Pack products.

Research and development expenses decreased $0.8 million, or 81%, during the third quarter of 2011 compared to the third quarter of 2010. The reduction in R&D expense was primarily due to decreased expenses related to CRTX 067, and the timing of other product development expenses.

As of September 30, 2011, we had $81.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, an increase of $30.6 million compared to December 31, 2010.

Conference Call Information

Cornerstone Therapeutics will host a conference call today at 8:30 AM ET to discuss its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. To participate in the live conference call, please dial 888-364-3109 (U.S. callers) or 719-325-2228 (international callers), and provide passcode 4010285. A live webcast of the call will also be available through the Investors -- Webcasts & Presentations section of the Company's website at http://www.crtx.com. Please allow extra time prior to the webcast to register and to download and install any necessary audio software.

The conference call and the webcast will be archived for 30 days. The telephone replay of the call will be available today at 11:30 AM ET, by dialing 888-203-1112 (U.S. callers) or 719-457-0820 (international callers), and providing passcode 4010285.

About Cornerstone Therapeutics

Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRTX), headquartered in Cary, N.C., is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, acquiring and commercializing products for the respiratory, hospital and related specialty markets. Key elements of the Company's strategy are to focus on identifying therapeutic niches within respiratory, hospital and related specialty markets to leverage existing business and create new opportunities; promote the Company's current products to high prescribing health care providers through the Company's respiratory sales force and to hospital-based health care professionals through the Company's hospital sales force; license or acquire rights to existing patent- or trade secret-protected, branded products, which can be promoted through the same channels to generate on-going high-value earnings streams; advance the Company's development projects and further build a robust pipeline; and generate revenues by marketing approved generic products through the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Aristos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release highlights the Company's financial results on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. The GAAP results include certain costs and charges that are excluded from non-GAAP results. By publishing the non-GAAP financial measures, management intends to provide investors with additional information to further analyze the Company's performance and underlying trends. Management evaluates results and makes operating and compensation decisions using both GAAP and non-GAAP measures included in this press release. Non-GAAP results are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, and non-GAAP information should be considered a supplement to, and not a substitute for, financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors and potential investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures attached to this press release. For more information about these non-GAAP measures, please see Part I, Item 2 of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on November 3, 2011.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the progress and timing of our product development programs and related trials; our future opportunities; our strategy, future operations, anticipated financial position, future revenues and projected costs; our management's prospects, plans and objectives; and any other statements about management's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including, without limitation, statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements.

There are a number of important factors that could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including risks relating to our "critical accounting estimates"; our ability to develop and maintain the necessary sales, marketing, supply chain, distribution and manufacturing capabilities to commercialize our products; our ability to replace the revenues from our marketed unapproved products, which we ceased manufacturing and distributing at the end of 2010, and from our propoxyphene products, which we voluntarily withdrew from the U.S. market in November 2010 at the request of the FDA; the adverse impact of returns of previously sold inventory; patient, physician and third-party payor acceptance of our products as safe and effective therapeutic products; our heavy dependence on the commercial success of a relatively small number of currently marketed products; our ability to maintain regulatory approvals to market and sell our products with FDA-approved marketing applications; our ability to obtain FDA approval to market and sell our products under development; our ability to enter into additional strategic licensing product acquisition, collaboration or co-promotion transactions on favorable terms, if at all; our ability to maintain compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements; adverse side effects experienced by patients taking our products difficulties relating to clinical trials, including difficulties or delays in the completion of patient enrollment, data collection or data analysis; the results of preclinical studies and clinical trials with respect to our product candidates and whether such results will be indicative of results obtained in later clinical trials; our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates before our competitors develop and commercialize competing products; our ability to satisfy FDA and other regulatory requirements; our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for our products and product candidates and the other factors described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 3, 2011 and in our subsequent filings with the SEC. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

In addition, the statements in this press release reflect our expectations and beliefs only as of the date of this release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our expectations and beliefs to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements publicly at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, business development transactions, joint ventures or investments that we may make or enter into. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date after the date of this release.

Trademarks

Curosurf® is owned by Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. Spectracef® is owned by Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. Factive® is owned by LG Life Sciences, Ltd. Curosurf, Spectracef and Factive are licensed to Cornerstone Therapeutics for sales and marketing purposes in the United States and, with respect to Factive, certain other countries.

FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW

                       CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.                        
                     CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME                      
              (In thousands, except share and per share data)               
                                                                            
                               Three Months Ended      Nine Months Ended    
                                 September 30,           September 30,      
                            ----------------------- ----------------------- 
                                2011        2010        2011        2010    
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
                                  (Unaudited)             (Unaudited)       
Net revenues                $    25,180 $    27,932 $    83,216 $    92,803 
Costs and expenses:                                                         
 Cost of product sales                                                      
  (exclusive of amortization                                                
  of product rights)              8,355       7,742      22,933      22,714 
 Selling, general and                                                       
  administrative                 11,239      12,850      36,113      38,089 
 Royalties                        1,605       2,600       6,250       9,846 
 Research and development           199       1,047       1,372       3,748 
 Amortization of product                                                    
  rights                          3,591       3,595      13,277      10,785 
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
  Total costs and expenses       24,989      27,834      79,945      85,182 
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
Income from operations              191          98       3,271       7,621 
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
Other expenses:                                                             
 Interest expense, net              (38)        (37)       (121)        (47)
 Other expense, net                   -         (25)          -         (25)
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
  Total other expenses              (38)        (62)       (121)        (72)
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
Income before income taxes          153          36       3,150       7,549 
(Provision for) benefit from                                                
 income taxes                       (36)        728      (1,094)     (2,172)
                            ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- 
Net income                  $       117 $       764 $     2,056 $     5,377 
                            =========== =========== =========== =========== 
Net income per share, basic $         - $      0.03 $      0.08 $      0.21 
                            =========== =========== =========== =========== 
Net income per share,                                                       
 diluted                    $         - $      0.03 $      0.08 $      0.21 
                            =========== =========== =========== =========== 
Weighted-average common                                                     
 shares, basic               25,782,481  25,430,785  25,646,455  25,395,506 
                            =========== =========== =========== =========== 
Weighted-average common                                                     
 shares, diluted             26,331,700  26,056,928  26,223,317  26,017,288 
                            =========== =========== =========== =========== 
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                        CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.                       
                         CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS                        
               (In thousands, except share and per share data)              
                                                                            
                                                    September               
                                                       30,      December 31,
                                                      2011          2010    
                                                  --------------------------
                                                   (Unaudited)              
Assets                                                                      
Current assets:                                                             
  Cash and cash equivalents                       $     81,541  $     50,945
  Accounts receivable, net                              17,080        76,476
  Inventories, net                                      12,295        15,174
  Prepaid and other current assets                       5,322         5,111
  Income tax receivable                                  2,204           197
  Deferred income tax asset                              4,535         6,599
                                                  --------------------------
    Total current assets                               122,977       154,502
                                                  --------------------------
Property and equipment, net                              1,691         1,486
Product rights, net                                     99,051       112,328
Goodwill                                                13,231        13,231
Amounts due from related parties                            38            38
Long-term accounts receivable                                —         7,866
Other assets                                               834           687
                                                  --------------------------
    Total assets                                  $    237,822  $    290,138
                                                  ==========================
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity                                        
Current liabilities:                                                        
  Accounts payable                                $      9,674  $      7,671
  Accrued expenses                                      43,395        46,599
  License agreement liability                            1,489         1,368
  Current portion of capital lease                          88            83
  Current portion of deferred revenue                    2,338        37,616
                                                  --------------------------
    Total current liabilities                           56,984        93,337
                                                  --------------------------
Capital lease, less current portion                         79           146
Deferred revenue, less current portion                       -        19,578
Deferred income tax liability                            3,838         4,679
                                                  --------------------------
    Total liabilities                                   60,901       117,740
                                                  --------------------------
Stockholders' equity                                                        
  Preferred stock — $0.001 par value, 5,000,000                             
   shares authorized; no shares issued and                                  
   outstanding                                               —             —
  Common stock — $0.001 par value, 90,000,000                               
   shares authorized; 25,796,934 and 25,472,963                             
   shares issued and outstanding as of September                            
   30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively             26            25
  Additional paid-in capital                           162,572       160,106
  Retained earnings                                     14,323        12,267
                                                  --------------------------
    Total stockholders' equity                         176,921       172,398
                                                  --------------------------
    Total liabilities and stockholders' equity    $    237,822  $    290,138
                                                  ==========================
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                                            
                       CORNERSTONE THERAPEUTICS INC.                        
                   CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS                    
                               (In thousands)                               
                                                                            
                                                       Nine Months Ended    
                                                         September 30,      
                                                    ----------------------- 
                                                        2011        2010    
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
                                                          (Unaudited)       
Cash flows from operating activities                                        
Net income                                          $     2,056 $     5,377 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash                             
 provided by operating activities:                                          
  Amortization and depreciation                          11,146      11,070 
  Provision for prompt payment discounts                  2,781       2,909 
  Provision for inventory allowances                        339         199 
  Loss on sale of property, plant and equipment               -          25 
  Impariment of product rights                            2,500           - 
  Stock-based compensation                                1,586         970 
  Benefit from (provision for) deferred income taxes      1,223      (1,419)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                                
  Accounts receivable                                    56,615      (2,206)
  Inventories                                             2,540      (1,855)
                                                                            
  Prepaid expenses, long-term accounts receivable                           
   and other assets                                       7,508       1,523 
  Accounts payable                                        2,003       2,172 
  Accrued expenses and license agreement liability       (3,083)      5,087 
  Income taxes receivable                                (2,007)     (2,597)
  Deferred revenue                                      (54,856)      9,195 
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
  Net cash provided by operating activities              30,351      30,450 
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
Cash flows from investing activities                                        
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets                            -           2 
Purchase of property and equipment                         (574)       (361)
Purchase of product rights                                    -        (250)
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
  Net cash used in investing activities                    (574)       (609)
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
Cash flows from financing activities                                        
Proceeds from exercise of common stock options and                          
 warrants                                                   368         538 
Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation            513         467 
Principal payments on capital lease obligation              (62)        (27)
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
  Net cash provided by financing activities                 819         978 
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
  Net increase in cash and cash equivalents              30,596      30,819 
Cash and cash equivalents as of beginning of year        50,945      18,853 
                                                    ----------- ----------- 
Cash and cash equivalents as of end of year         $    81,541 $    49,672 
    

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