Drug manufacturer Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) Monday reported a higher profit for the second quarter, despite a decline in sales, as costs and expenses decreased for the period. On a non-GAAP basis, excluding restructuring charges, earnings topped Street expectation.
The Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based company reported second quarter net income of $1.768 billion or $0.82 per share, up from $1.676 billion or $0.77 per share in the second quarter of 2007.
Results of the just concluded period includes restructuring costs of $16.1 million and year-ago results include restructuring costs of $118.7 million, primarily related to accelerated depreciation associated with Merck's global restructuring program.
On a non-GAAP basis, excluding restructuring charges, the third largest U.S. drug maker reported earnings of $0.86 per share for the second quarter. On average, 13 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected second quarter earnings of $0.83 per share.
Sales slipped 1% to $6.051 billion from $6.111 billion reported last year. Foreign exchange favorably affected global sales performance by 5%. Analysts expected second quarter revenues of $6.05 billion.
Revenue from AstraZeneca LP recorded by Merck for the second quarter of 2008 was $456 million.
Sales of asthma treatment Singulair slipped 1% to $1.1 billion, while Zetia sales declined 3% to $560 million. Vytorin sales decreased 14% to $592 million with antihypertensive medicines Cozaar and Hyzaar generating $941 million for the second quarter, an increase of 11% from last year.
Januvia, Merck's treatment for type 2 diabetes, recorded worldwide sales of $334 million in the second quarter, up from $144 million in the previous year. Cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil recorded a 5% decline in sales, generating $995 million for the second quarter.
For the first six months of 2008, net income increased to $5.070 billion or $2.34 per share from $3.380 billion or $1.55 per share in the previous year. Worldwide sales edged down to $11.873 billion from $11.880 billion.
Earlier in the day, Merck and Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) postponed the release of their second-quarter results until after the bell Monday to facilitate investigators time to present their data on a study of cholesterol drug Vytorin's efficacy to inhibit heart-attacks.
The drug makers, which produce Vytorin under a joint venture, said that their primary investigator Dr. Terje Pedersen, Chief, Preventive Medicine Clinic, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, who was conducting the Simvastatin plus Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis, or SEAS Study, would be making his presentation in the afternoon.
However, the study later showed that Vytorin failed to show effectiveness in stopping the progression of a major heart valve problem. The data showed no significant difference in the study's composite goals between the patients who received placebo and those who received Vytorin.
Later, Schering-Plough said second quarter net income available to common shareholders declined to $398 million or $0.24 per common share from $517 million or $0.34 per common share reported in the same quarter of last year. Non-GAAP earnings would have been $731 million or $0.45 per share, up from $623 million or $0.41 per share in the year-ago quarter. Schering-Plough's net sales for the second quarter totaled $4.92 billion, up from $3.18 billion in the year ago quarter.
Merck said Monday that it is currently assessing the impact of the results on the contribution from the Merck/Schering-Plough joint venture and is not providing 2008 equity income guidance, as well as 2008 GAAP and non-GAAP EPS guidance. Merck intends to continue its stock buyback program in 2008.
The company also said that on July 10 it received a letter from the FDA closing out its recent inspection of the West Point manufacturing facility. As a result, any filed vaccine supplements are now able to move through the agency's normal review and approval process.
MRK closed Monday's regular trade at $35.33, down $2.35 or 6.24% from the previous close, on 31.39 million shares, compared to a 3-month average volume of 18.74 million shares. The stock, which trended in the range of $34.49-$61.62 for the past year, dropped $2.25 in the extended trade.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.