* Sales up 20 percent at $3.4 billion
* Net income down to $523 million from $535 million
(Adds detail, CEO quote)
TEL AVIV, July 28 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries , the world's largest generic drugmaker, reported higher second-quarter sales on Tuesday, boosted by its acquisition of rival Barr Pharmaceuticals.
Israel-based Teva said sales totalled $3.4 billion, a 20 percent rise from the same period last year, compared with the average forecast of $3.5 billion from analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.
Teva said exchange rate differences negatively affected sales by 9 percent compared with the second quarter of 2008.
Excluding one-off items, income rose to $742 million, a 25 percent increase from last year, while earnings per diluted share was 15 percent higher at 83 cents, beating the average forecast from analysts of 81 cents a share.
But Teva said net income fell to $523 million or 58 cent per diluted share from $535 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier.
Teva's branded drug Copaxone remained the number one multiple sclerosis therapy globally, with record sales of $682 million in the quarter, up 21 percent from a year ago.
Teva's sales were mainly boosted by its acquisition of rival Barr in December 2008.
"I believe that a quarter like this one -- when we had only one key launch, but still delivered the best numbers in our history -- provides a very clear demonstration of Teva's unique qualities and the strength of Teva's growth momentum," Teva President and Chief Executive Shlomo Yanai said.
Teva declared a dividend of 0.60 shekel (15.7 cents) a share to be paid on Aug. 5. (Reporting by Steve Scheer, editing by Will Waterman)