By Chelsey Dulaney
Pfizer Inc. on Tuesday lifted its full-year outlook as its
newly-launched treatments continued to drive growth in the second
quarter.
Pfizer said it is now expecting $2.01 to $2.07 a share in
adjusted earnings, up from its previous forecast for $1.95 to $2.05
a share in earnings. The company lifted the bottom end of its
revenue outlook by $1 billion, now calling for $45 billion to $46
billion in revenue.
Shares gained 1% in light premarket trading.
Pfizer has had to combat a wave of patent expirations for big
drugs like painkiller Celebrex, while a stronger dollar also has
hurt results. The company has forged development partnerships and
sought to make deals in a busy time for pharmaceutical mergers and
acquisitions.
In February, Pfizer agreed to buy Hospira Inc., a maker of
injectable drugs and infusion technologies, for about $16 billion.
Pfizer said Tuesday that it expects the deal to close in the second
half of the year.
In all, Pfizer posted a profit of $2.63 billion, or 42 cents a
share, down from $2.91 billion, or 45 cents a share, in the
prior-year period. Excluding certain items, per-share earnings were
56 cents. Revenue fell 7% to $11.9 billion, but would have risen 1%
excluding currency impacts.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected 52 cents a
share and $11.42 billion in revenue.
Its established-products revenues fell 22% to $5.09 billion in
the quarter, amid loss of exclusivity and increased generic
competition for drugs like Celebrex and antibiotic Zyvlox.
Pfizer expects the division to be helped by its acquisition of
Hospira, which will add sterile injectables and biosimilars to its
portfolio.
Meanwhile, innovative products revenues grew 8% to $6.63
billion, boosted by a 44% surge in global vaccines revenue.
Pfizer also attributed the growth to the recent U.S. launches of
Ibrance, its new treatment for breast cancer, and Prevnar 13, a
pneumonia vaccine.
Global oncology revenues grew 25% to $713 million in the
quarter.
Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read told The Wall Street Journal in
April that he expects cancer drugs to "produce substantial growth"
for Pfizer. He said Pfizer's interest in oncology and other
specialized therapy areas, such as vaccines, marked a shift away
from primary-care products now that they face heavy generic
competition.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires