Merck & Co's 1st-qtr revenues hit by generic competition

5 May 2016

US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) today posted revenue for the first-quarter of 2016, showing revenue of $9.31 billion in the quarter, dipping 1.3% compared with the like 2015 quarter and missing Wall Street forecasts for $9.49 billion. US sales climbed 7% to $4.22 billion, but sales oversees fell 7% to $5.09 billion.

Merck reported first-quarter earnings of $1.13 billion, or earnings per share of $0.40 up 18.6% from $953 million, or $0.33, in 2015's first quarter. Adjusted EPS was $0.89, beating Wall Street's projections of $0.85 a share. Merck’s share edged up in pre-market trading but were down 1.88% at $53.78 by mid-morning

For the full year 2016, Merck raised its adjusted EPS outlook range to $3.65 to $3.77 from $3.60 to $3.75. The drugmaker now expects revenue of $39 billion to $40.2 billion, up from its prior forecast of $38.7 billion to $40.2 billion.

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