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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (6764)	1/21/1999 7:40:00 AM
From: BigKNY3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9523

Viagra still going strong as Pfizer's 4th qtr sales and earnings beat estimates January 21, 1999 Marketletter via NewsEdge Corporation : Pfizer has posted strong earnings and revenue growth for 1998 and in particular for the fourth quarter of last year, when revenues of $3.87 billion represented an increase of 26% over the corresponding quarter last year. Net income rose 42% to $711 million, excluding one-time items, while earnings per share increased 42% to $0.54, exceeding First Call's analysts consensus estimate by 2%. For the full year, turnover was $13.54 billion, up 23%, with profits rising 27% to $2.63 billion and earnings per share climbing 26% to $2.00. Pharmaceutical sales for the quarter rose 31% to $3.39 billion, with US revenues increasing 38% to $2.06 billion. International turnover climbed 23% to $1.32 billion. Norvasc (amlodipine) remains Pfizer's best-selling drug, rising 15% in the quarter to $719 million, though at the expense of Procardia XL (nifedipine), which declined 10% to $172 million. Sales of Cardura (doxazosin) rose 14% to $185 million, while Zoloft (sertraline) jumped 24% to $489 million. The quarter's sales were boosted by Viagra (sildenafil) which regained its strength to post sales of $236 million, compared with $141 million in the third quarter, which Pfizer says was due to the number of international launches that took place during the period. The company added that, to date, more than 7 million prescriptions for the drug have been written in the USA and Viagra is now available in over 40 countries. Pfizer's anti-infectives also performed well. Sales of Zithromax (azithromycin), the most prescribed brand-name oral antibiotic in the USA, soared 42% to $397 million, pushing worldwide 1998 sales to over $1 billion, and Trovan (trovafloxacin) reached turnover of $55 million. Diflucan (fluconazole) rose 9% to $248 million, while Zyrtec (cetirizine) jumped 54% to $109 million, which the company said was a result of a successful direct-to-consumer advertising campaign and expanded field force support. Strong growth for alliance products Pfizer's sales were again boosted by strong growth from its alliance products Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Aricept (donepezil), co-marketed with Parke-Davis and Eisai, respectively. The drugs contributed $299 million to fourth-quarter turnover, representing an increase of 83%, and Pfizer noted that Lipitor comfortably remains the most-prescribed lipid-lowerer in the USA, while its Alzheimer's therapy Aricept, which has now been launched in most major world markets, grew 98% to $386 million for the full year. William Steere, Pfizer's chief executive, said that the company is pleased with the progress of its new products and is particularly enthusiastic about the prospects for Celebrex (celecoxib), which is partnered with Searle and recently received approval in the USA for the relief of symptoms of adult rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis (Marketletter January 4 & 11). Chief financial officer David Shedlarz noted that while 1998 was clearly successful, "the challenge at hand for Pfizer continues to be striking the right balance between growth and investment." Analysts impressed again with Pfizer Once again, analysts were impressed with Pfizer's performance, and Sergio Traversa at Mehta Partners told Reuters that the results "show the company is in very, very good condition." He said that based on current growth trends, Viagra sales are likely to hit an impressive $2 billion by 2001, despite being well below the bullish $5-$10 billion estimates made by some analysts when the product was launched. Mr Traversa concluded by saying that it is a premium that Pfizer fully deserves given its strong R&D efforts, which rose 26% to $2.28 billion in 1998. Neil Sweig at Southeast Research Partners said Viagra's fourth-quarter sales were $70 million less than his own forecast, but added that the performances of Zithromax, Zoloft and Diflucan made up for the disappointment. <<Marketletter -- 01-25-99>>