Press Release Source: Wyeth
Wyeth Reports Earnings Results for the 2004 First Quarter
Wednesday April 21, 6:51 am ET
-- Worldwide Net Revenue for the 2004 First Quarter Increases 9% to $4 Billion Driven by Strong Growth of Effexor, Enbrel, Protonix, Zosyn and Rapamune
-- Agreement Signed with Solvay Pharmaceuticals to Co-Develop and Co- Commercialize Four Neuroscience Product Candidates, Including Bifeprunox, a Late-Stage Compound for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
-- Wyeth to Hold R&D Presentation with Investment Community on June 2
MADISON, N.J., April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wyeth (NYSE: WYE - News) today reported results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2004. Worldwide net revenue increased 9% to $4.0 billion for the 2004 first quarter. Excluding the favorable impact of foreign exchange, worldwide net revenue increased 4% for the 2004 first quarter.
"We are very pleased with the performance of Wyeth's growth drivers this quarter," said Robert Essner, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our key marketed products, most notably Effexor®, Enbrel®, Protonix®, Zosyn® and Rapamune® made excellent progress in the 2004 first quarter. Sales of these five products collectively increased 32%. These products are not subject to generic competition for several years and have tremendous opportunity for continued growth."
"As significant as the growth we achieved with our marketed products is the progress we are making in our development pipeline, augmented by in-licensing opportunities, such as our recent agreement with Solvay Pharmaceuticals to bring bifeprunox to market for schizophrenia, a market that continues to have significant unmet medical needs. We look forward to sharing the exciting progress in R&D at Wyeth and discussing the highly innovative products we are developing at our R&D presentation with the investment community on June 2nd," Essner continued.
Reported net income and diluted earnings per share for the 2004 first quarter were $749.7 million and $0.56, respectively, compared with $1.28 billion and $0.96 in the prior year. The 2004 first quarter includes a charge of $145.5 million ($94.6 million after-tax or $0.07 per share-diluted) within Research and Development Expenses related to an upfront milestone payment to Solvay Pharmaceuticals (Solvay). The upfront milestone payment was made in connection with an agreement entered into between Wyeth and Solvay to co-develop and co-commercialize four neuroscience compounds, most notably, bifeprunox. The 2003 first quarter includes a gain of $860.6 million ($558.7 million after-tax or $0.42 per share-diluted) from the sale of 31,235,958 shares of the Company's Amgen common stock holdings.
The 2004 Solvay milestone payment and the 2003 Amgen gain are considered to be certain significant items for purposes of analyzing our results of operations. Net income and diluted earnings per share, before certain significant items, were $844.3 million and $0.63 for the 2004 first quarter compared with $719.2 million and $0.54 in 2003. A reconciliation of net income and diluted earnings per share as reported under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to net income and diluted earnings per share before certain significant items is presented below. The 2004 increases in net income and diluted earnings per share, before certain significant items, were due primarily to higher net revenue and other income (including $140.7 million and $3.2 million of pre-tax gains from product divestitures in 2004 and 2003, respectively) offset, in part, by higher cost of goods sold, as a percentage of net revenue, higher research and development spending and higher selling, general and administrative expenses.
Gains from product divestitures are not considered certain significant items because they constitute an integral part of the Company's analysis of divisional performance. However, they are important to understanding changes in our reported net income. Excluding the certain significant items and the gains from product divestitures described above, net income and diluted earnings per share were $751.8 million and $0.56 for the 2004 first quarter as compared to $717.1 million and $0.54 in the 2003 first quarter. |
