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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dennis who wrote (1304)	1/14/1999 9:18:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1722

Pfizer 4th-Qtr Net Seen at 52 Cents a Share: Earnings Outlook Bloomberg News January 14, 1999, 5:08 p.m. ET Expected Earnings Pfizer Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings are expected to rise to 52 cents a share, from 38 cents a year earlier, the average estimate of 31 analysts polled by First Call Corp. Time Pfizer, maker of the impotence pill Viagra and the antidepressant Zoloft, is expected to release earnings next week. Behind the Numbers Pfizer began selling Viagra in Europe in the fourth quarter, which will add to its profits. Pfizer also completed the sale of its last medical-device unit in the fourth quarter, shedding this business to let it better concentrate on pharmaceuticals. While spending more than $2 billion a year on drug research, Pfizer also is expanding its sales force. The New York-based company last year said it intended to hire 800 to 900 new representatives by March 1999, expanding its salesforce to more than 15,000. The new representatives will help Pfizer sell its own new drugs, such as Viagra and the antibiotic Trovan, as well as with the introduction of Celebrex, a new arthritis medicine from Monsanto Co. that Pfizer is marketing. What the Experts Say ''The top line will be pretty robust, but the big swing factor is how much they will spend on their sales force and on research,'' said Karen Johnson Grunst, an analyst with Banc One Investment Advisors, which holds about 2.7 million Pfizer shares, according to regulatory filings. Previous Market Reaction Pfizer fell 5 1/2 to 87 1/2 on Oct. 13 after reporting third- quarter profit from operations that fell short of analysts' estimates. Some analysts hadn't counted on sales of Viagra slowing. Viagra had $411 million in sales in the second quarter, its first three months on the market. In the third quarter, sales fell to $141 million as the novelty surrounding the world's first pill to treat impotence diminished. Market Trend Pfizer has risen 30 percent to 113 1/2 since reporting third- quarter earnings. --Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016 /mfr