West Pharmaceutical posts record quarterly sales, EPS

Lionville, Pennsylvania -- Medical components manufacturer West

Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. reported net earnings of $20.7 million in

the second quarter, up nearly 62 percent from the like period of 2005.

Earnings per diluted share from continuing

operations came in at 62 cents, up from 38 cents a year earlier. West

posted net sales of $240.2 million during the period, up 38.8 percent

from 2005. The EPS and sales figures represented records for the

company.

"The second quarter performance reflects

the strength of the underlying markets for our injection-related

products," said Donald Morel, West chairman and CEO. "That is

driven primarily by increasing demand for injectable therapeutics and

growing patient populations within key therapeutic product categories,

for which our coated and Westar-brand-treated products are setting the

standard.

"We are moving forward with plans to make

significant investments over the next three years in our global

manufacturing infrastructure in order to continue to participate in and

build on that growth."

For the first six months of 2006, West

reported net income of $38.8 million, up 48.7 percent from the year

before. Net sales were $463 million, a 43.6-percent rise from 2005.

Diluted earnings per share from continuing

operations for the half-year came in at $1.10. The company expects

diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be between

$1.82 and $1.88 for the year, excluding a 12 cents per diluted share

after-tax charge for early extinguishment of debt and a 13 cents per

diluted share tax benefit that related primarily to discontinued

operations

Both of those changes were reported in the first quarter of 2006.