Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Shire Plc, the U.K.'s third-largest drugmaker, said fourth-quarter profit tripled, boosted by higher- than-expected revenue from the hyperactivity pill Vyvanse.

Net income increased to $212.1 million, or 36.9 cents a share, from $68.6 million, or 13.4 cents, a year earlier, the Basingstoke, England-based company said today. Shire was expected to earn $110 million, the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales almost doubled to $724.5 million.

Vyvanse contributed $65.9 million to sales, beating the analysts' estimate of $55 million. The company needs to reduce its reliance on hyperactivity drug Adderall XR, which makes up half of its revenue and loses patent protection next year. Shire bought New River Pharmaceuticals Inc. last year for $2.6 billion to get rights to Vyvanse, and expects the Adderall XR successor to contribute between $350 and $400 million to this year's sales.

``They've given bullish Vyvanse guidance,'' Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jack Scannell said by phone. ``The numbers for the year are pretty good and outside of the ADHD portfolio things have gone pretty well.''

Shire rose 23 pence, or 2.4 percent, to 974.5 pence in London. The stock has dropped 15 percent this year, making it the second-worst performer on the 13-member Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index, which is down 8.8 percent.

Analysts at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bernstein all downgraded their ratings on Shire shares this year, saying sales of Vyvanse will be lower than expected.

`High and Unrealistic'

``I've downgraded because, a few months ago, Vyvanse forecast numbers were unreasonably high and unrealistic,'' Scannell said. ``Shire now has an easier task because consensus expectations have come down to an extent.''

The drugmaker also gained from the introduction last year of Lialda for ulcerative colitis, Dynepo for anemia and chronic kidney failure and Daytrana for attention-deficit disorder.

Sales of such newer products made up 23 percent of full year revenue in 2007. Medicines less than three years old will represent 45 percent of full year revenue by the end of 2008, Chief Financial Officer Angus Russell said on a conference call.

``We currently expect 2008 revenue growth to be in the mid- to-high teens range and positive revenue growth through 2010,'' Russell said, declining to be more specific.

$3.3 Billion Market

Attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder affects an estimated 5 million U.S. children, who struggle to focus and control impulses. Other medicines competing in the $3.3 billion U.S. market include Novartis AG's Ritalin.

Shire is focusing on the 9.9 million adult ADHD patients, a group it says is the largest and fastest-growing portion of the market for the medication. Adults over 18 represented 41 percent of all prescriptions last year and the market is expected to grow 16 percent annually for the next five years, said Michael Cola, head of specialty pharmaceuticals, on a conference call. About

``Adults are a huge driver and it's an underserved market,'' Chief Executive Officer Matthew Emmens said. Vyvanse is longer- lasting and causes less irritability than other amphetamine-based ADHD therapies, making it more suitable for adult patients, he said.

``Improved access to the drug, coupled with increased scripts from expected approval in the adult ADHD indication at the end of April will help to drive market share growth through 2008,'' Morgan Stanley analyst Karl Bradshaw wrote in a note to investors. ``Concerns over Vyvanse are overdone.''

Shire had a $114.8 million one-time gain in the quarter from October's sale of eight drugs to Spain's Laboratorios Almirall SA.

The drugmaker will pay a dividend of 6.469 cents a share for the second half of 2007. That means the full-year dividend will be 8.616 cents, an increase of 20 percent over 2006.

The company is the U.K.'s largest drugmaker after GlaxoSmithKline Plc and AstraZeneca Plc, both based in London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Trista Kelley in London at tkelley2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 21, 2008 12:10 EST