Because
PRODUCTION costs for a high end ball shouldn't be that much more than a simple plastic ball, I wouldn't think. Wages for employees would be the same, utilities incurred should be the same, materials are higher ( cores, higher grade formulations ), but that should be about it, don't you think? Where a lot of expense is incurred, I think, is in the R&D and promotions of said ball.
With Roto deciding to eat some of the R&D costs and bring the original cell out at a lower price point, and the cell being out in the limelight by being on TV so much without having to run ads, there promotions money was saved also.
With most of the R&D already done on the solid covered version, all that was left was to decide which pearl cover to put on the pearl version. And since so many people who already had the solid version and loved it were waiting on the pearl version to come out, again, not much promotion money needed.
If they were profiting on the Cell solid at the price point it came in at, they will surely profit on the pearl version at $119 as well.
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