UPDATE 2-Cephalon profit rises, maintains '09 forecast
* Q1 adjusted EPS $1.30 vs Wall St $1.27
* Revenue up 17.3 pct but shy of expectation
* Shares fall 2.8 pct (Adds sales, forecast details, analyst and company comment)
By Bill Berkrot
NEW YORK, May 5 (Reuters) - Cephalon Inc (CEPH.O) reported on Tuesday that first-quarter profit jumped 44 percent, but revenue fell short of expectations and the company did not raise its full-year forecast, sending its shares nearly 3 percent lower.
Total revenue rose 17.3 percent to $519.9 million, but was shy of Wall Street estimates of $534.7 million.
For the second quarter, the drugmaker sees adjusted earnings of $1.40 to $1.50 per share and sales of $515 million to $535 million.
"Revenue this quarter and perhaps next quarter is the element that's not living up to expectations," said Jefferies & Co analyst David Windley.
Net income rose to $43.8 million, or 75 cents per share, from $30.4 million, or 41 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding items, Cephalon had adjusted earnings of $1.30 per share, topping analysts' average expectations by 3 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Frazer, Pennsylvania-based Cephalon said it still expects full-year adjusted earnings of $6.50 to $6.60 per share with sales of $2.18 billion to $2.23 billion.
Sales of the company's flagship sleep disorder drug Provigil rose 19 percent $253.4 million. Cephalon plans to start selling a follow-up drug, Nuvigil, later this year.
The cancer pain drug Actiq continued to see revenue evaporation in the face of generic competition and sales for the quarter fell 23 percent to $38.2 million.
Newer medicines were again a bright spot in the quarter.
Cephalon's new leukemia drug Treanda had sales of $50.2 million, a 38.6 percent increase over the previous quarter's sales, while sales of the muscle relaxer Amrix nearly tripled to $26.2 million from $9.7 million a year ago.
"In the short run, Amrix and Treanda will supply growth," Chief Executive Frank Baldino said in a statement.
Cephalon shares fell to $63.99 in extended trading from their Nasdaq close at $65.88. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing Bernard Orr)
