Merck & Co misses forecasts, as 4th-qtr sales fall 3%

US pharma major Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) saw its shares down 3.25% at $48.76 kid-morning, after it posted disappointing 2015 financial results and below expectations guidance for 2016.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 fell 3% to $10.22 billion, below analysts' expectations of $10.35 billion, impacted by the stronger dollar. Had this not been the case. Net income attributable to the company fell to $976 million from $7.32 billion in 2015, when Merck benefitted from a significant gain from the sales of its consumer business for $10.6 billion to Germany’s Bayer. Earnings per share were $0.35 compared with $2.54 in 2015.

For full-year 2015, Merck posted net income of $4.44 billion, or $1.56 per share, and revenue of $39.5 billion, a decrease of 6%. Full-year non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) EPS was $3.59, an increase of 3%.