LAVAL, Quebec—Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) reported Wednesday that it achieved sales growth of 5 percent in the fourth quarter and 3 percent for the full year of 2019. In addition, Bausch said the fourth-quarter results marked the eighth consecutive quarter of total organic revenue growth. Fourth-quarter revenues totaled $2.224 billion (an increase of $103 million compared with $2.121 billion in the year-ago period), while adjusted EBITDA totaled $898 million. The company also reported a GAAP net loss of $1.516 billion in the fourth quarter, which compares with a net loss of $344 million in the year-ago period.

For the full-year 2019, sales totaled $8.601 billion (an increase of $221 million compared with the prior year), with adjusted EBITDA of roughly $3.6 billion. The GAAP net loss for the year was $1.788 billion.

In a presentation, Bausch said organic revenue growth in 2019 was driven by strong Lumify growth, the performance of its eye vitamin franchise (Ocuvite + PreserVision) and the performance of Biotrue ONEday and Bausch + Lomb Ultra lenses. In 2019, Biotrue ONEday saw 23 percent growth in organic revenue, while Bausch + Lomb Ultra saw 24 percent organic revenue growth. The company also noted that it increased market share of U.S. contact lens sales by 1.6 share points.

"In 2019, we delivered on our 'pivot to offense' strategy,” chairman and chief executive officer Joseph C. Papa said in the announcement. “Our fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results demonstrated the consistency and durability of Bausch Health, as we reported our eighth consecutive quarter of organic revenue growth and our first full year of reported revenue growth since 2015. The Salix and Bausch + Lomb/International segments are leading our resurgence with continued strong performance."

Papa also noted that in 2019 Bausch increased its commitment to growth by deploying approximately $250 million for bolt-on acquisitions to enhance its current product portfolio and to add to its development pipeline.

The Bausch + Lomb/International segment, which comprised approximately 55 percent of reported revenue in 2019, achieved 2 percent sales growth in 2019, with revenue in this segment growing organically by 5 percent compared with 2018. It was the third consecutive year of organic revenue growth, according to the Bausch announcement.

Sales in the global vision care segment totaled $210 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 3.4 percent, while full-year sales totaled $698 million, an increase of 4 percent.

This segment launched multiple products last year, including Ocuvite Eye Performance vitamins, PreserVision AREDS 2 Formula minigel eye vitamins, Lotemax (loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic gel) 0.38%, Bausch + Lomb Ultra Multifocal for Astigmatism contact lenses, Zen multifocal scleral lens for presbyopia and the enVista toric MX60ET intraocular lens. The company also acquired licensing rights for several investigational products.

In addition, Bausch said it expects full-year 2020 revenues in the range of $8.65 billion to $8.85 billion, and full-year adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) in the range of $3.50 billion to $3.65 billion.