ACQUISITIONS LOWER EARNINGS AT BARR, WATSON

Separate earnings reports released by Barr and Watson show expenses and other charges related to acquisition activity were key factors that drove earnings downward for both companies in 2006.

Barr posted a $390 million loss for the fourth quarter against $94.8 earned in the same period a year earlier. It posted a $338 million loss for the last half of the year against earnings of $178 million posted in the same period in 2005.

Barr's fourth quarter figures include a $439 million transaction charge related to the acquisition of Pliva. For the last half of the year, the company posted a $535 million charge for costs related to Pliva.

The company expects its total revenue for 2007 to be in the range of $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion.

Watson posted a $488 million loss for the fourth quarter of 2006 against $20 million earned in the corresponding period a year earlier. For the full year, it posted a $445 million loss compared with $138.6 million earned for the full year 2005.

Fourth quarter figures include a $497.8 million R&D charge and a $12.3 million charge related to the acquisition of Andrx. It also reported $5.7 million in inventory charges related to that acquisition.

Watson predicts its total net revenue will fall between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion at the end of 2007.