Bergen Shares Fall 22% on Earnings Warning

Shares of Bergen Brunswig Corp., the third-largest U.S. drug wholesaler, fell 22% after it warned that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings would miss analysts’ expectations because of revenue shortfalls at its newly acquired Stadlander and PharMerica units. Shares of Orange-based Bergen Brunswig fell $2.13 to close at $7.56 on the New York Stock Exchange. Bergen Brunswig forecast earnings of 2 cents to 5 cents in the quarter ended Sept. 30 and 85 cents to 89 cents for the year. It was expected to earn 24 cents in the quarter and $1.11 for the year, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. PharMerica’s revenue has been hurt by the prospective payment system instituted by Medicare. The warning caused the shares of other drug wholesalers to fall as well. McKesson HBOC Inc. fell $2 to close at $22.94 and Cardinal Health Inc. fell $1.13 to close at $51.38, both on the NYSE. Bergen Brunswig said it’s considering taking a noncash charge of as much as $80 million to write down the purchases. Bergen Brunswig shares have lost 80% of their value since January. Bergen Brunswig will release earnings next month.