Pharmacia Earnings Strengthen, Meeting Expectations
By Carolyn Koo
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com Staff Reporter
4/25/00 1:40 PM ET
Pharmacia (PHA:NYSE - news - boards) reported a 31% increase in first-quarter earnings Tuesday, helped by strong sales of the company's main drugs.
The results, excluding merger-releated costs, met Wall Street expectations.
The company, based in Peapack, N.J., was formed from the merger of pharmaceutical maker Pharmacia & Upjohn and life sciences behemoth Monsanto on March 31. Pharmacia, now one of the top drug makers in the world, said that for the quarter ended March 31, earnings, excluding a $461 million charge for costs relating to the merger, rose to $425 million, or 33 cents a diluted share, from $324 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier. The consensus estimate of analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial was 33 cents.
Including the charge for the merger and other special items, the company reported earnings of $98 million, or 7 cents a diluted share. The figures also include a contribution to charity of $100 million from the proceeds of businesses divested by Monsanto as well as a $58 million gain from discontinued operations.
Revenue rose 5% to $4.29 billion from $4.10 billion a year ago, due to pharmaceutical sales that increased 10%, to $2.85 billion. Blockbuster arthritis treatment Celebrex and glaucoma therapy Xalatan accounted for the biggest percentage, with Celebrex sales totaling $534 million and Xalatan $161 million.
Net sales for Monsanto's agricultural business -- which account for about one-third of Pharmacia's revenue -- fell 2%, mostly because of a 5% drop in revenue of the Roundup herbicide.
Shares of Pharmacia fell 3 5/8, or 6%, to 54 7/16 in midday Tuesday trading
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Haven't read the earning report, but selloff on news means it may be cheaper this week.
Jack |
