Pfizer shares rise as it beats Wall Street profit estimates for first quarter
Pharma company Pfizer beat Wall Street estimates for first quarter profit today and raised its earnings forecast for the year.
Revenue rose 1.6 per cent to $13.12bn, ahead of estimates of $12.99bn.
Net profit rose nine per cent to $3.88bn, or 68 cents per share.
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The company increased its 2019 adjusted earnings per share forecast slightly higher to between $2.83 and $2.93 , from a previous estimate of $2.82 to $2.92.
It reiterated its full-year revenue target of $52bn to $54bn.
Shares in the company rose 3.2 per cent to $40.85.
New chief executive Albert Bourla has moved to split Pfizer into three business since taking over in January as part of a plan to boost growth and cut bureaucracy.
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Pfizer expects mid-single-digit operational revenue growth from 2020 through to 2025, Bourla said.
Cancer drug Ibrance generated sales of $1.13bn during the quarter, up 21.4 per cent from a year earlier, and ahead of analysts’ estimates of $1.12bn.
Pneumonia drug Prevnar earned $1.49bn, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39bn.
Pfizer is under pressure as one of its biggest drugs, Lyrica, faces generic competition. The company, therefore, has been investing in cancer treatments and gene therapies, and expects to gain approval for a new heart drug, touted as a potential blockbuster, later this year.
It has also signed a joint venture agreement with Glaxosmithkline to form the world’s biggest consumer health business by the second half of the year.