|
Pharmacia 4Q drops
|
 |
February 5, 2002: 9:33 a.m. ET
Drugmaker dragged down by charges as Monsanto spinoff continues.
|
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Pharmacia Corp. reported fourth-quarter earnings Monday that fell despite strong sales of its arthritis drug Celebrex, dragged down by a series of charges.
The Peapack, N.J.-based drugmaker reported earnings in the quarter ended Dec. 31 of $86 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $157 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier.
For the full year, the company earned $1.12 a share, compared with 54 cents a share in 2000.
Excluding a series of charges, but including the agricultural business of Monsanto, which Pharmacia partially spun off last year, Pharmacia earned $197 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $246 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier.
And excluding the Monsanto agriculture business, which Pharmacia counts as a discontinued operation, Pharmacia earned 36 cents a share, matching the expectations of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.
Click here to check other drug stocks
Pharmacia said it expects to complete its spinoff of Monsanto in the fourth quarter of 2002. It also reaffirmed its previous guidance that it expects earnings per share in 2002 to total between $1.52 and $1.57.
Pharmacia's quarterly sales rose to $3.68 billion from $3.33 billion a year earlier, led by $904 million in sales of Celebrex, compared with $772 million a year earlier.
Pharmacia (PHA: Research, Estimates) shares fell 90 cents Monday to close at $39.40. 
- from staff and wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.
