King Pharmaceuticals Reports Year-End and Fourth-Quarter 2006 Financial Results

Business Wire, Feb 28, 2007

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:KG) announced today that total revenues increased 12% to a record high $1.99 billion during the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to $1.77 billion for 2005. Reported net income equaled $289 million and diluted earnings per share equaled $1.19 during the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to net income of $118 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.49 during the prior year. Excluding special items, net earnings increased to $423 million and diluted earnings per share increased to $1.74 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2006, from net earnings of $400 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.66 in 2005. Net income and diluted earnings per share, as reported and excluding special items, also achieved record highs in 2006.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006, total revenues increased 21% to $513 million compared to $423 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Reported net income equaled $37 million and diluted income per share equaled $0.15 during the fourth quarter of 2006, compared to a net loss of $95 million and diluted loss per share of $0.39 in the same period of the prior year. Excluding special items, net earnings equaled $99 million and diluted earnings per share equaled $0.41 during the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared to net earnings of $92 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.38 in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Brian A. Markison, President and Chief Executive Officer of King, stated, "During 2006, King Pharmaceuticals achieved many important accomplishments which we believe are representative of the successful execution of our strategy for growth. Most notably, we continued to maximize the value of our existing products as evidenced by our record high total revenues of $1.99 billion. We also successfully focused our resources and talents on strengthening our product portfolio, particularly through our acquisition of AVINZA([R]) (morphine sulfate extended release), a true once-a-day formulation of morphine." Mr. Markison continued, "More recently, we expanded our THROMBIN-JMI([R]) (thrombin, topical, bovine, USP) franchise with our acquisition of an exclusive license to Vascular Solutions' hemostatic products, enabling King to offer physicians an even wider array of means to administer our topical hemostatic agent."

Mr. Markison added, "2006 was a productive year for our R&D organization. As previously announced, Dr. Eric Carter joined the Company as Chief Science Officer and we look forward to his leadership as we continue to advance our portfolio of compounds in development."

King's Phase III products are led by REMOXY[TM], an abuse-deterrent formulation of long-acting oxycodone, which the Company is developing with Pain Therapeutics, Inc. Other Phase III products include our ramipril/hydrochlorothiazide combination product, VANQUIX([R]), a diazepam-filled auto-injector for breakthrough epileptic seizures, and binodenoson, the Company's second generation cardiac stress imaging agent. King's Phase II compounds include bremelanotide, a treatment for sexual dysfunction in both men and women, which is the subject of the Company's collaboration with Palatin Technologies, Inc. and MRE-0094, a wound healing agent for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. The Company is also developing T-62, a potential major advance in the treatment of neuropathic pain, which is expected to enter Phase II clinical trials during the first half of this year.

As of December 31, 2006, the Company's cash and cash equivalents and investments in debt securities totaled approximately $1.0 billion. During the fourth quarter of 2006 and for the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company generated cash flow from operations of approximately $168 million and $466 million, respectively.

Joseph Squicciarino, King's Chief Financial Officer, stated, "Our 2006 accomplishments provide us with a solid foundation for the coming year. In 2007, we will continue to prudently invest in research and development and focus our business development initiatives on expanding our development pipeline, as we work to add value for our shareholders. Accordingly, we plan to invest more in research and development this year than we did in 2006."

Net revenue from branded pharmaceuticals totaled $455 million for the fourth quarter of 2006, a 25% increase from the fourth quarter of 2005, and equaled $1.7 billion for the year ended December 31, 2006, a 12% increase from $1.5 billion during the prior year.

ALTACE([R]) (ramipril) net sales totaled $181 million during the fourth quarter and $653 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to $150 million during the fourth quarter and $554 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2005.

Net sales of SKELAXIN([R]) (metaxalone) totaled $113 million during the fourth quarter and $415 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to $70 million during the fourth quarter and $345 million during the twelve months ended December 31, 2005.