LAVAL, Que. -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals shares got a lift Monday after the drugmaker announced it had trimmed its hefty debt by an extra US$220 million.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Quebec-based company's shares (TSX:VRX) gained almost five per cent at $13.27 in morning trading, though that's still far off its peak of nearly $350 in August 2015.
The company says it was able to cut its debt thanks to the early closing of the sale of three skincare brands to L'Oreal and the sale of a manufacturing facility in Brazil.
Since the first quarter of 2016, Valeant says it has reduced its debt by about US$3.6 billion to around US$30 billion.
It has set a goal of paying down US$5 billion in debt by February 2018 from asset sales and earnings.
The company holds its annual meeting Tuesday in Laval, Que., with first-quarter results to be reported a week later.
