Advertisement
New Zealand markets closed
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NZD/USD

    0.5981
    +0.0006 (+0.10%)
     
  • NZD/EUR

    0.5540
    +0.0006 (+0.12%)
     
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • OIL

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,254.69
    -26.15 (-0.14%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.49
    +15.40 (+0.08%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,369.44
    +201.37 (+0.50%)
     
  • NZD/JPY

    90.4640
    +0.0710 (+0.08%)
     

Merck raises forecast on strong sales of diabetes, cancer drugs

(Adds details, background, share movement)

July 28 (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and boosted its full-year earnings forecast as demand for its diabetes and cancer drugs increased.

The company also said it expects to reap benefits from its $8.4 billion purchase of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the maker of blockbuster antibiotic Cubicin. Cubicin sales for the second quarter were $293 million.

Sales of Merck's diabetes drug, Januvia, rose 1.3 percent to $1.6 billion in the quarter ended June 30.

The company's cancer treatment from a promising class of new drugs, Keytruda, brought in sales of $110 million, helping the drugmaker edge past the average analyst estimate for revenue.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 124-year-old company raised its forecast to $3.45-$3.55 per share from $3.35-$3.48 per share. Analysts on average were expecting $3.45 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

In the second quarter, Merck's net income fell nearly 66 percent to $687 million, or 24 cents per share, for the second quarter, from $2 billion, or 68 cents per share, from a year earlier.

The latest reported quarter included charges of $1.45 billion related to the Cubist deal.

Excluding items, the company earned 86 cents per share. Revenue fell 10.5 percent to $9.79 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 81 cents per share on revenue of $9.8 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Separately, the company said it would buy privately held drug developer cCAM Biotherapeutics for $95 million to boost its immuno-oncology pipeline.

The deal also includes milestone payments of $510 million.

Merck's shares were up marginally at $57.50 on Tuesday in premarket trading. They had fallen about 1 percent this year through Monday's close, compared with a 9 percent rise in the S&P 500 healthcare index.

(Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)