Medicine pill is seen with Merck logo displayed on a screen in the background in this illustration photo taken in Poland on October 4, 2021.
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Merck on Tuesday reported second-quarter revenue that topped expectations on strong sales of its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and HPV vaccine Gardasil.
The pharmaceutical giant posted a quarterly loss, however, due to charges associated with the company’s acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences earlier this year.
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Merck swung to a net loss of $5.98 billion, or $2.35 per share, from a net income of $3.94 billion, or $1.55 per share, during the year-earlier period.
Excluding acquisition and restructuring costs, Merck’s loss per share was $2.06 for the quarter.
The loss reflects a $10.2 billion, or $4.02 per share, charge related to the company’s acquisition of Prometheus, which specializes in treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Merck said it completed the deal in mid-June.
Here’s how Merck results compared with Wall Street expectations, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Loss per share: $2.06 adjusted vs. $2.18 expected
- Revenue: $15.04 billion vs. $14.45 billion expected
Revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter rose 3% from a year earlier.
Shares of Merck are down roughly 4% this year, with a market value of roughly $270 billion, making it the third largest pharmaceutical company based in the U.S.
The New Jersey-based company raised its 2023 sales forecast to a range of $58.6 billion to $59.6 billion, slightly higher than the $57.7 billion to $58.9 billion guidance provided in late April.
Merck lowered its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to $2.95 to $3.05 per share, from a previous forecast of $6.88 to $7 per share.
The company said its business growth during the quarter contributed 24 cents per share to the full-year earnings guidance, but was offset by the $4.02 per share charge related to the Prometheus deal.
The outlook also includes previously disclosed one-time charges related to Merck’s acquisition of Imago BioSciences last year and an upfront payment for a drug development agreement with Kelun-Biotech.
Strong pharmaceutical sales
Merck’s pharmaceutical business, which develops a wide range of drugs for different disease areas, booked $13.46 billion in revenue during the quarter. That’s up 6% from the same period a year ago.
Excluding Merck’s Covid antiviral treatment molnupiravir, the pharmaceutical division revenue grew 14%.
Sales of molnupiravir, sold under the brand name Lagevrio, plunged to $203 million during the period, down 83% from the $1.18 billion reported for the second quarter of 2022. Analysts had been expecting the drug to rake in $187.6 million in sales, according to FactSet estimates.
The decline isn’t a surprise. Sales of molnupiravir and other Covid products from companies like PfizerFOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS