Pfizer in News

International : Pfizer's profit rises to $3Billion, sales up 17%
The Economic Times : July 22, 2004

Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker, reported strong Q2 earnings on booming sales of cholesterol and depression drugs and merger-related cost savings.

Cholesterol medicine Lipitor, the world's top selling drug, led the growth, with sales up 17% to $2.4billion.

Of Pfizer's key drugs, only Viagra posted a decrease from a year earlier. Sales of the impotence treatment were off by 7% at $389 million.

Pfizer posted a net profit of $2.9billion, compared to a loss of $3.6billion a year-earlier, when the company took charges of almost $5.8billion to account for costs of its $56billion acquisition of Pharmacia. Excluding special items, including $747m in charges related to the ’03 Pharmacia acquisition, Pfizer earned 47 cents per share. Quarterly revenue grew 24% to $12.3bn, helped by a new products from Pharmacia and a weak dollar.

Sales of antidepressant Zoloft surged 25% to $789m, while Neurontin for epilepsy soared 32% to $782m.

In June Pfizer was ordered to pay $240m after pleading guilty to criminal health-care fraud for promoting Neurontin for unapproved uses, such as to treat pain and migraines.

Arthritis drug Celebrex, acquired in the Pharmacia acquisition, had sales of $728m for the quarter. Excluding special items, including $747m in charges related to the ’03 Pharmacia acquisition, Pfizer earned 47 cents per share. Quarterly revenue grew 24% to $12.3bn, helped by a new products from Pharmacia and a weak dollar.