Merck 1Q sales rise but profit falls on charges

[May 04, 2010]  WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) -- Drugmaker Merck & Co. said Tuesday double-digit sales growth for a half-dozen of its top medicines fueled a 7 percent jump in first-quarter sales. But charges for its November deal to buy Schering-Plough Corp. pulled profit down sharply.

Despite that, Merck handily beat analyst expectations.

The maker of asthma and allergy pill Singulair and cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia is reporting earnings of $298.8 million, or just 9 cents per share.

A year earlier, before Merck's megadeal to buy Schering-Plough for $41 billion, Merck earned 67 cents per share on revenue of $5.39 billion. The new Schering products helped boost sales to $11.42 billion. Sales also were boosted 4 percent by favorable currency exchange rates.

Excluding charges totaling $2.31 billion or 74 cents worth after taxes, Merck would have earned 83 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings per share of 75 cents and revenue of $11.18 billion.

The company said it is still on track to reach its goal of $3.85 billion in annual savings from the Schering-Plough deal in 2012.

"The first full quarter of results for the new Merck reflect our strong focus on driving revenue growth, maintaining the momentum of the business and reducing our cost structure," Chief Executive Richard T. Clark said in a statement. "At the same time, we made excellent progress on achieving our integration goals."

[Associated Press]

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