UPDATED: Thumbing its nose at critics, Valeant touts Q3 growth, hikes forecasts

Valeant CEO J. Michael Pearson

Valeant ($VRX) may have upped its Q3 revenue by 33% and beat analysts' bottom-line expectations--not to mention hiked its forecast for this year and next. But takeover target Allergan ($AGN) still isn't impressed. On the other hand, shareholders might be if Valeant hikes its hostile bid again, as its CEO now suggests.

The Canadian drugmaker put up $275.4 million, or 81 cents per share, in quarterly profit, while revenue soared to $2.06 billion from $1.54 billion a year ago. The company also raised its guidance for Q4 and 2014, and hiked its 2015 earnings outlook by 10% to hit $10--and that's without more dealmaking.

But speaking of dealmaking, CEO J. Michael Pearson said Monday that the company wouldn't back down in its months-long pursuit of Allergan, Reuters reports. And a raised bid may be on its way, he said.

According to Pearson, Valeant outperformed across the board, exceeding its own expectations "on all key metrics." And as if to preempt critics, the company was careful to note that its organic sales growth rate amounted to 19%.

"With our acquisition of Bausch + Lomb now annualized and the impact of generics largely behind us, the true strength of our business and operating model can be clearly seen by our financial results," he said in a statement.

That business and operating model includes buying up companies, slashing costs and moving on to the next deal. M&A added $343.5 million to product sales for Q3, Valeant said, with "same-store sales" for the quarter totaling $1.68 billion.

But Allergan--a vocal critic of the model as it looks to dodge Valeant's hostile bid--has a different opinion. On Friday, it released a presentation urging investors to question its pursuer's results based on the "quality and thoroughness" of Valeant's data, the sustainability of the company's price increases and what the Botox maker sees as a "lack of comprehensive product level disclosure."

Worried that shareholders might be on board with the Valeant merger it's tried so hard to avoid, Allergan got a head start on criticizing Valeant's quarterly results three weeks ago. In another presentation, it claimed Valeant's quarterly sales boost would depend on last year's weak showing. That, in turn, would make it tough to repeat the swell next quarter.

But which side shareholders take will be up to them, and they'll have the opportunity to make themselves heard come Dec. 18. Allergan has scheduled a special shareholder meeting, at which they'll have the opportunity to upturn the California company's board in favor of a new, more deal-friendly slate put forth by Valeant's buyout partner, Bill Ackman.

- read Valeant's release
- see Allergan's latest investor presentation
- get more from Reuters

Special Reports: Pharma's top 10 M&A deals of 2013 - Valeant/Bausch + Lomb | The most influential people in biopharma today - J. Michael Pearson - Valeant

Editor's note: This story has been updated with Pearson's comments from Reuters.