Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sepracor slashes 530 jobs, reports profit jump in ’08

By Mass High Tech staff

Waking up to a harsh economic day, sleep drug maker Sepracor Inc. reported that it plans to cut 530 positions and an additional 410 contract sales positions as part of a cost-cutting plan.

The Marlborough-based maker of the sleep aid Lunesta said that the staff cuts would be comprised of 180 corporate positions and about 350 field positions, and amount to approximately 20 percent of the company’s global work force.

Sepracor (Nasdaq: SEPR) said that overall planned expense reductions will amount to about $210 million, of which approximately $20 million has already been achieved in the fourth quarter of 2008, with the remaining $190 million expected in 2009.

For 2009, Sepracor sees revenue of about $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion, a 7.1 percent decrease compared with 2008. The company says it expects to record one-time restructuring charges of approximately $20 million to $23 million in the first quarter of 2009 related to its workforce reduction.

In addition to the job cuts, Sepracor reported its full 2008 financials, posting an impressive jump in profit on a slight rise in revenue. For 2008, Sepracor pulled in $1.29 billion, compared with $1.22 billion for 2007. Net income for 2008 jumped to $515 million from $58 million in 2007, but Sepracor notes that some of that is attributable to certain tax-related benefits and charges.