Salix revenues surge but fall short of Street expectations

Revenues surged for (Nasdaq: SLXP) in the first quarter but still fell some $3 million short of Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

The drug firm, which focuses on intestinal treatments, reported Tuesday that product revenue climbed to $44.8 million, up $10.5 million from a year earlier.

However, Salix reported a loss of $14 million or 29 cents per share.

Research and development costs were reduced $5.8 million to $20.1 million from a year earlier but sales, general and administrative costs increased nearly $4 million to $25 million.

Helping drive up the quarterly loss was a one-time adjustment to company reserves for rebate purposes.