Business Credit Reports
Hits and Misses: Monday’s Earnings Reports
The drugmaker Merck & Co. (MRK: 39.59, -0.17, -0.42%) on Monday reported that its profit almost doubled in the first quarter due to a $1.4 billion distribution from a partner drug company. Its sales were slightly higher than a year ago.
The maker of allergy and asthma pill Singulair reported net income of $3.3 billion, or $1.52 per share, for the January-March period, up from $1.7 billion, or 78 cents a share, a year ago.
Excluding the $1.4 billion gain from AstraZeneca PLC of Britain and other one-time items, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck earned 89 cents per share in the latest quarter.
Revenues totaled $5.82 billion, up 1% from $5.77 billion in the first three months of 2007.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 86 cents per share, a figure that generally excludes one-time items, but had forecast higher revenues of $6.11 billion.
Its shares rose 21 cents to $66.72 in premarket trading.
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