Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that despite lower sales its first-quarter profit soared compared with year-earlier results that were depressed by two major charges.
Pfizer, the world's largest drug company, earned $4.1 billion, or 56 cents a share, up from $301 million, or 4 cents, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the maker of Lipitor for high cholesterol and Zoloft for depression earned 61 cents a share, beating the 53 cents predicted on average by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Those items include charges related to Pfizer's acquisition of Pharmacia, costs associated with Pfizer's restructuring plan and a lower than expected tax rate.
Revenue fell 3% to $12.7 billion from $13.1 billion. The latest figure was slightly short of the $12.98 billion analysts predicted.
Sales of Lipitor, the world's bestselling drug, were essentially flat at $3.1 billion, falling below Pfizer's expectations.
"Lipitor growth was slower than they thought. That is still a major concern," said Shaojing Tong, an analyst at Mehta Partners, a healthcare investment company.
Pfizer reaffirmed it plans to launch six medicines this year, including Sutent, a cancer drug, and Exubera, an inhaled form of insulin.
The company also increased its 2006 share repurchase plan to $4 billion from at least $1 billion.
During the first quarter of 2005, Pfizer took a $766-million charge for withdrawing its pain reliever Bextra from the market and a $2.2-billion charge for tax expenses associated with repatriating earnings from overseas.