Aceto earnings drop 57 percent to $5 million

Aceto Corp. Thursday reported a 57-percent drop in profit for the July-September period compared with a year ago on lower sales of ingredients used to make medicines.

The Port Washington-based maker of chemicals and generic drugs said it had a $5 million profit in the first quarter of its 2015 fiscal year. That compares with $11 million in the period a year earlier.

Sales in the quarter rose 1 percent to $131 million.

Chief executive Sal Guccione predicted that Aceto's performance would improve in the final six months of the year. "We continue to expect to achieve double-digit revenue and earnings growth for fiscal 2015," he said.

Guccione also said Aceto would spend $9 million on research and development for generic drugs, an increase of $3.8 million from last year. The company plans to launch eight generics, he said.