Merck & Co 3rd-qtr revenues and earnings beat expectations

US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) today reports that worldwide sales were $10.5 billion for the third quarter of 2016, an increase of 5% compared with the third quarter of 2015, including a 1% negative impact from foreign exchange. This beat the $10.18 billion consensus forecast of analysts. Merck’s shares gained 1.23% to $61.50 in pre-market trading.

GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) assuming dilution were $0.78 for the third quarter. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.07 for the third quarter excludes acquisition- and divestiture-related costs and restructuring costs, and was ahead of the $0.99 expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. GAAP and non-GAAP EPS in the third quarter include an estimated benefit of approximately $0.04 from the timing of shipments in Japan, noted Merck.

Financial outlook