Written by StockNews.com

Allergan plc. (NYSE: AGN) early Tuesday posted better than expected first-quarter earnings results and lifted its full-year outlook, amid strong demand for its facial aesthetics products.

The Dublin, Ireland-based pharmaceuticals giant reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $3.35, which was $0.04 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $3.31 [while]
• revenues rose 5.1% from last year to $3.57 billion, also topping analysts’ view for $3.53 billion...
  • Facial Aesthetics, BOTOX Therapeutic, Eye Care products, and Lo LOESTRIN products were standouts...while
  • NAMENDA Franchise revenues lagged. Meanwhile,
  • U.S. Specialized Therapeutics net revenues jumped 14%, but
  • U.S. General Medicine net revenues fell 7%.

Looking ahead, AGN:

• forecast full-year 2017 EPS of $15.85 to $16.35, up slightly from its prior outlook of $15.80 to $16.30. On average, Wall Street anlaysts are looking for $16.01 per share for the year.

 Brent Saunders, Chairman and CEO of Allergan, commented via press release:

“2017 is a pivotal year for Allergan, and we started with a solid, well-executed first quarter.

Many of our key brands continued to deliver significant year-over-year growth, led by:

• BOTOX®,
• JUVÉDERM® Collection of fillers,
• Regenerative Medicine business,
• LINZESS® and
• Lo LOESTRIN®.

We also saw strong performance from our newer launch products. We recently completed the acquisitions of LifeCell and ZELTIQ®, adding to our leading position in medical aesthetics. We are focused on executing successful integrations of those businesses.

Our R&D team continued to:

• advance many of our six “star” R&D programs and
• deliver FDA approvals, including VOLLURE™ XC and TrueTear™.

These solid results and strong execution were delivered by our 18,000 global colleagues who continue to Be Bold. They are:

• powering new ideas and building bridges with our customers to help them better care for their patients...[and
• acting fast and driving results that will continue to make a profound impact on global health and patient care.

I thank them for their continued commitment as we focus on solid execution and delivering results for the remainder of 2017."

Allergan plc shares rose $1.03 (+0.43%) in premarket trading Tuesday. Year-to-date, AGN has gained 15.54%, versus a 7.68% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

AGN currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of B (Buy) and is ranked #16 of 135 stocks in the Medical – Pharmaceuticals category.