By Elissa Welle
(Reuters) – Bausch + Lomb posted modestly better than expected second-quarter earnings on Wednesday after its new chief executive, Brent Saunders, took the helm in March.
B+L reported revenue of $1.04 billion in the quarter, up from $941 million a year ago. Analysts, on average, expected revenue of $963 million for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
Excluding items, B+L said it earned $65 million, or 18 cents per share, down from $103 million or 29 cents per share last year, as the company’s expenses rose. Still, the earnings beat analysts’ expectations by 3 cents a share.
Saunders, a noted dealmaker, previously helmed and built up Botox maker Allergan before it was acquired by AbbVie for $63 billion in 2020.
This is his second stint at Bausch + Lomb, which makes contact lenses, surgical devices, prescription drugs and generic eye products. In 2013, Saunders oversaw B+L’s acquisition of Valeant Pharmaceutical, now Bausch Health Companies. Bausch Health still owns most of B+L’s shares and has said it intends to fully spin the company off. Some Bausch Health investors are trying to block the spinoff.
(Reporting by Elissa Welle in New York; Editing by Michael Erman and Matthew Lewis)
