Teva quarterly net profit down on CoGenesys charge : US Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd , the world's largest generic drugmaker, on Tuesday reported a drop in its first-quarter net profit, weighed by a charge tied to its acquisition of CoGenesys.

Quarterly net income at the Israel-based company was $147 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with $342 million or 42 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, which excludes the CoGenesys charge, Teva said it earned 64 cents a share in the quarter.

Sales rose 24 percent to $2.57 billion.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman)

(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.