REUTERS: Merck & Co Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year earnings forecast, driven by resilient demand for its blockbuster cancer therapy Keytruda during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The drugmaker's revenue took a hit at the height of the pandemic as patients avoided hospital visits, denting sales of vaccines, physician-administered drugs and animal health products.The company said it had taken the majority of the blow in the second quarter. Merck said it now expects full-year adjusted profit of between US$5.91 and US$6.01 per share, compared with its prior forecast of between US$5.63 to US$5.78 per share.
For 2020, Merck now expects an unfavorable impact to revenue of about US$2.35 billion due to the pandemic, up from US$1.95 billion it had initially estimated. Excluding items, Merck earned US$1.74 per share, beating analysts' average estimates of US$1.44 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »