Pfizer’s revenue is up 34 percent
Pfizer Inc., fresh from buying fellow drugmaker Wyeth and already deep into integrating its operations, posted on Wednesday a 34 percent jump in revenue, but about $3.2 billion in acquisition charges and higher costs across the board weighed down profits.
The maker of Viagra and cholesterol fighter Lipitor, which paid $68 billion to get Wyeth’s vaccines, biologic drugs and consumer health staples such as Centrum vitamins and pain relievers Advil and Anacin, already has slashed about 4,200 jobs and cut other costs.
New York-based Pfizer said its revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $16.54 billion, half a billion above what analysts were expecting as the recession continues to reduce sales of even prescription medicines. Wyeth products contributed $3.3 billion of those sales. Excluding that boost, revenue was up about 7 percent from the $12.35 billion Pfizer reported in the fourth quarter of 2008, but Pfizer noted that favorable exchange rates boosted total revenue by 4 percent.
Net income amounted to $767 million, nearly triple the $266 million the world’s biggest drugmaker earned a year ago, when results were hurt by a whopping $2.3 billion charge to settle federal charges that Pfizer improperly marketed some of its drugs. That profit is equal to earnings per share of 10 cents, or 49 cents after excluding the acquisition charges and other one-time items.
Analysts were expecting 50 cents a share. The per-share results were reduced somewhat because Pfizer issued new shares to help fund the Wyeth purchase, increasing outstanding shares by about 16 percent.
Pfizer did not provide directly comparable figures on revenue, profit and costs for the 2009 and 2008 periods. The company forecast 2010 revenue of $67 billion to $69 billion.