Merck & Co third-qtr disappoints, as earnings plunge

27 October 2014

US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) posted third-quarter 2014 financial results today, showing that sales for the period fell 4% to $10.56 billion, shy of Wall Street expectations of $10.67 billion, causing the firm’s shares to dip 1.7% to $56.62 in early trading.

The company earned $895 million, down 20.4% or $0.31 per share, during the July-September quarter. A year earlier it earned $1.12 billion, or $0.38 per share. . Excluding special items, Merck earned $0.90 per share, topping the average analyst forecast of $0.88 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Merck, the USA’s second largest drugmaker, narrowed its full-year 2014 profit forecast to between $3.46 and $3.50 per share, from its earlier view of $3.43 to $3.53 per share. Revenue is expected between $42.4 billion and $42.8 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet predict earnings of $3.47 per share on revenue of $42.5 billion.

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