Merck Beats, But Vytorin Concerns Mount
Last Update: 22-Jul-08 09:03 ET
Pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK 35.33) reported second quarter earnings after Monday's close that beat the consensus estimate. For the quarter, Merck reported earnings of $0.86 per share, excluding nonrecurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus.
Revenues fell 1% year-over-year to $6.05 billion, but matched the consensus estimate.
Merck issued guidance for 2008 worldwide sales of its more popular drugs, including Singulair (sales between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion), Cozaar/Hyzaar (sales between $3.5 billion and $3.7 billion), Gardasil (sales of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion), and Fosamax (sales of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion).
Merck's report was delayed while the company waited for results from a study of its cholesterol drug Vytorin to be released. Merck and Vytorin partner Schering-Plough (SGP 18.95) had hoped the study would provide better news after initial concerns about Vytorin's effectiveness surfaced earlier this year, but the drug failed to meet the goals of the study. Findings indicated that patients receiving Vytorin were no better off than those receiving a placebo to reduce the risks of coronary artery disease events.
Merck said that it is currently assessing the impact of the results and will not provide any guidance at this time.  |