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Merck meets 2Q estimates
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July 20, 2001: 10:12 a.m. ET
No. 1 U.S. drugmaker's profit rises on better-than-expected sales
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Merck & Co. posted improved second-quarter profit Friday that met slightly lowered Wall Street forecasts on somewhat better-than-expected sales.
The nation's largest pharmaceutical company posted net income of $1.8 billion, or 78 cents a diluted share, in line with estimates of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call. A year earlier, the Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based company earned $1.72 billion, or 73 cents a share.
The results come after Merck's rivals Pfizer Inc. (PFE: up $0.56 to $41.69, Research, Estimates) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: up $0.10 to $54.30, Research, Estimates) also reported higher earnings.
Merck (MRK: down $0.03 to $67.27, Research, Estimates) warned a month ago that second-quarter earnings per share would be between 77 and 79 cents, compared with First Call's forecast of 81 cents at the time. The company Friday reaffirmed it's June guidance of full-year EPS of between $3.12 to $3.18. First Call's EPS forecast for the year now stands at $3.14, down from $3.20 before the warning.
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Sales rose to $11.9 billion from $9.5 billion a year earlier. First Call's forecast was for sales of about $11.8 billion in the latest quarter.
The company said sales in its human drug sector were reduced about 3 percent in the quarter by the change in currency exchange rates. About 37 percent of that core segment's sales are overseas, and a stronger dollar reduces the value of those sales.
Results in the pharmaceutical segment generally showed gains during the second quarter at the time many other industries have seen profits drop precipitously.
Merck stock, one of 30 in the Dow Jones industrial average, fell modestly in morning trading. 
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Merck & Co.
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