"The growth that we are seeing in sales of packaging components and systems, excluding currency translation, is the best indicator we have that inventories in the supply chain are at or near the low point for this cycle," said Donald E. Morel Jr., Ph.D., the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Demand for flu vaccine added to that growth and should continue to contribute through the next two quarters, during which we expect overall demand to firm. In the Tech Group, sales under existing manufacturing contracts remain sluggish. The restructuring plan we announced today will improve operating efficiencies in both business segments, enhancing our strategic focus on maintaining and building our proprietary injectable drug delivery product portfolio. The Tech Group will continue to provide critical engineering and manufacturing support to those development efforts, which we believe will accelerate West's growth in the longer term."

"In revenue terms, this third quarter was relatively strong compared to the first half of the year. We expect the unusual seasonality of 2009 to continue and that fourth-quarter sales will be the strongest of the year, despite some continued weakness in the Tech Group. Our revised guidance is for 2009 Adjusted Diluted EPS of between $2.08 and $2.13. We expect the overall improvements we've seen during the last four months to continue through the fourth quarter and into 2010, and are forecasting revenue growth of between 3% and 5% for next year, excluding the effects of currency translation."

SOURCE West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.