UPDATE 3-Lundbeck Q4 profit lags forecast, Cipralex sales top

* Q4 EBIT 408 million DKK vs forecast 553 mln

* Blockbuster Cipralex sales +18 pct vs forecast +11 pct

* Sees 2010 EBIT rising to 3.0-3.4 bln DKK, from 2.86 bln

* Says key products continued to gain market share in 2009

* Shares up 0.5 pct, outperform European peer index

(Adds comments from news conference, updates share price)

By Anna Ringstrom

COPENHAGEN, March 4 (Reuters) - A forecast-beating rise in sales of Lundbeck's (LUN.CO) blockbuster drug Cipralex boosted the Danish drugmaker's fourth-quarter operating profit, though a writedown kept it below expectations.

The firm said wider healthcare reforms during the economic crisis risked affecting results this year but still predicted higher sales and profits than in 2009.

Fourth-quarter operating profit nearly doubled to 408 million crowns ($75 million), below an estimated 553 million in a Reuters poll. Adjusted for a 157 million crown writedown of rights to insomnia drug Circadin, which Lundbeck obtained in 2007, the result roughly matched expectations. [ID:nLDE6201DV]

"We have focused on increasing our drugs sales and at the same time keeping costs under control, and both succeeded," Chief Executive Officer Ulf Wiinberg said in a statement, commenting on the full-year 2009.

Lundbeck gets most revenue from antidepressant Cipralex, which is sold in the United States by partner Forest Laboratories (FRX.N) as Lexapro.

Sales of that drug are at risk of collapsing in the face of competition from generic rivals as patents expire between 2012 and 2014, so Lundbeck is working to replace it with new products.

Cipralex sales, which in the third quarter suffered from fiercer competition from imitation rival drugs, were up 18 percent to 1.35 billion crowns, topping expectations of an 11 percent rise. Lundbeck's Lexapro revenues were up 18 percent, to 600 million crowns, lagging a forecast 24 percent.

Group revenues in the fourth quarter were also driven by high sales growth for Alzheimer's disease drug Ebixa and Parkinson's disease drug Azilect, Lundbeck said.

Lundbeck will later this year comment on expected earnings in 2012, the year of the Lexapro patent expiry, Chief Financial Officer Anders Gotzsche told a news conference.

He said 2012 would still be a "very profitable" year for the company, but Lundbeck would await results of recent product launches, and clarity around a planned U.S. healthcare reform that could hit pharmaceuticals, before commenting further.

SEES PROFIT GROWTH

Nordea said Lundbeck's earnings looked disappointing at first glance but turned out to be close to expectations when adjusted for sleeping pill Circadin. "Overall, the report is in line with expectations," Nordea said in a note.

Lundbeck shares rose 0.5 percent by 1232 GMT, outperforming a 0.6 percent drop in the Stoxx Europe Healthcare index .SXDP.

"EBIT was a bit lower than expected due to the writedown on Circadin," said Jyske Bank analyst Frank Andersen.

"The 2010 EBIT guidance is slightly disappointing," he said, adding, however, that the report held nothing to prompt him to change his "accumulate" recommendation on the stock.

The company guided for a 2010 operating profit of 3.0 billion-3.4 billion crowns, up from 2.86 billion in 2009. It forecast full-year sales of 14.3-14.8 billion, up from 13.7 billion.

"The guided range is an expression of the current uncertainties related to the global economical climate," Lundbeck said. "As a consequence, Lundbeck foresees that healthcare reforms may be introduced, which could potentially have a financial impact on the company."

Demand for drugs is relatively resilient through economic downturns.

The company said 2009 sales growth was driven by key products and the acquisition in March of U.S. firm Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which Lundbeck renamed Lundbeck Inc.

"Our key products continued to gain market share," Wiinberg said, commenting on 2009. "Although the development of LuAA21004 is delayed, additional positive data have further strengthened our belief in the compound."

Lundbeck on Wednesday announced plans for an additional phase 3 clinical trial with LuAA21004 -- an antidepressant candidate drug that is a potential replacement of Cipralex -- following disappointing phase 3 data in June 2009.

Gotzsche said Lundbeck would pay back all debt related to the Ovation purchase this year, faster than expected, and Wiinberg said the firm was on the outlook for more acquisitions.

Lundbeck, which has a market value of around 18.7 billion crowns, raised its dividend by a third to 3.07 crowns per share, above a forecast of 3.01 crowns. ($1=5.445 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Karin Jensen, additional reporting by Peter Starck, Editing by Dan Lalor and Rupert Winchester)