Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. saw fourth-quarter revenue increases, while AstraZeneca PLC plans to cut 8,000 more jobs by 2014 to cut costs as it reported weak earnings...
By Militza Richard
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) benefited from rising sales of treatments for mental illness in the fourth quarter. Bristol also saw huge profits from the spin off of its baby-formula business, while Lilly swung to a profit from last year’s loss which was weighed down by acquisition charges.
Both pharmaceutical companies disclosed that they settled a dispute over necitumumab, an experimental cancer drug acquired by Lilly in 2008 when it purchased ImClone Systems. The companies will share the cost of developing and marketing the drug in the U.S., Canada and Japan but Lilly will keep exclusive rights in all other markets.
Bristol announced net earnings attributable to the company were $8 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, or $4.06 a share, up from $1.2 billion or 63 cents a share, last year.
These results include a gain of $7.2 billion, or $3.62 a share, for the split-off of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (MJN), maker of Enfamil baby formula, which is recorded as discontinued operations. (To see Healthcare Digital’s coverage of this story please visit: Mead Johnson Nutrition Company to split off Bristol-Myers Squibb)
Excluding the spinoff gains, the company earned 47 cents per share for the quarter.
Lilly reported net income of $915.4 million, or 83 cents a share, a significant improvement over last year’s loss of $3.6 billion, or $3.31 a share. Fourth-quarter earnings were 91 cents a share.
However, AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), which partnered with Bristol for FDA approval of a single-pill combination of diabetes drugs Onglyza and metformin (For Healthcare digital coverage of this story please visit: Clinical trial begins in AstraZeneca, Merck & Co. partnership ) reported disappointing fourth quarter earning and has announced it plans to cut 8,000 more jobs, or 12 percent of its work force, by 2014.
The company said the cuts will be made across all regions and divisions and warned that the coming year will be a hard one as patents expire. AstraZeneca’s shares dropped 2.5 percent to 2,969.5 pence after the weak earnings update, despite the company’s attempts to make the stock more attractive by announcing a $1 billion share buyback.
Fourth quarter profit rose 26 percent to $1.56 billion from $1.26 billion, while full-year net profit increased 23 percent to $7.54 billion. Revenue was up by 9 percent over the quarter to $8.95 billion, and by 4 percent over the year to $32.8 billion. However, earnings excluding some restructuring costs and charges of $1.42 a share missed analysts' forecasts of $1.54-$1.57 per share.
Edited by Gabe Perna