LAVAL, Quebec—Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) (TSX: VRX), parent company of Bausch + Lomb, reported Tuesday that divestiture efforts enabled the company to reduce its debt by $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017 and by $3.6 billion overall since the end of the first quarter of 2016.

Sales in the first quarter, which ended March 31, declined 11.1 percent to $2.1 billion from the year-ago total of $2.37 billion.

In the Bausch + Lomb/International segment, revenues rose about $4 million to $1.15 billion in the quarter (compared with $1.146 billion in the year-ago period), according to Valeant’s statement. Sales growth in this business segment was 4 percent on a constant currency basis, Valeant noted. “Gains were primarily driven by increases in our international volumes, particularly in Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, Asia and Australia, of $59 million, partially offset by declines in U.S. Bausch + Lomb volumes of $10 million,” Valeant reported.

“Our first quarter performance demonstrates that we are delivering on our commitments,” chairman and chief executive officer Joseph Papa said in a statement. “We met our internal expectations, and we are continuing to make progress on our key initiatives, focus on the turnaround of our core businesses and improve internal operating efficiencies.”

Valeant also noted that it completed more than $1.3 billion in asset sales during the quarter, and that it is “on track to close the sale of Dendreon Pharmaceuticals for $819.9 million in cash proceeds in mid-year.”

In its statement, Valeant reported operating income of $211 million in the first quarter, which compares with $66 million in the year-ago period, an increase of $145 million. Net income for the quarter totaled $628 million, compared to a net loss of $374 million in 2016’s first quarter. Net income in the first quarter of 2017 included a one-time income tax benefit of $908 million from a non-cash internal restructuring, Valeant said.

Valeant also noted that it has raised its earnings guidance for 2017 to adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) in the range of $3.60 billion to $3.75 billion for the full year. (The previous range was $3.55 billion to $3.7 billion).