Bristol-Myers Squibb has posted better growth in net profit and net sales during the second quarter ended June 2008. Its net profit increased by 23 per cent to $722 million from $588 million in the corresponding period of last year. Its net sales increased by 16 per cent to $5203 million from $4,471 million.

Pharmaceutical sales touched to $4.5 billion representing a growth of 16 per cent. Its US sales also moved up by 17 per cent to $2.6 billion primarily due to increased sales of Plavix, the continued growth of Abilify, strong results from the HIV and hepatitis portfolio and increasing contribution of recent launches of products such as Orencia and Ixempra.

James M Cornelius, chairman and CEO, said, "We are making measurable strides against the strategy we outlined for investors last year. In addition to strong sales growth, we are making acquisitions, entering licensing agreements and investing in our pipeline, as we deliver on our commitments to patients and investors. We are also taking steps now to manage through future exclusivity losses. Our improvement initiatives are enabling us to better manage our costs and work more efficiently."

"We are selecting the best of biotech and the best of the pharmaceutical industry and combining these traits into a model which will position us as a next-generation BioPharma leader. As our second quarter 2008 results indicate, we're on the right path to help patients prevail over serious disease both today, and in the future," he added.

In December 2007, the company announced a $1.5 billion productivity transformation initiative to be completed by 2010. The company is well on track to achieve this goal as underlined by its current margin performance. It has commissioned several internal teams to execute against some already identified projects. It will provide additional information on this second wave of productivity initiatives and its costs by year-end.

For the first half of 2008, Bristol-Myers' net sales increased by 18.3 per cent to $10,094 million from $8,534 million in the similar period of last year. Its net profit went up to $ 1,425 million from $1,396 million. Its pharmaceutical sales increased to $8,663 million from $7,308 million, a growth of 18.5 per cent. Its nutritionals sales went up by 16.7 per cent to $1,431 million from $1,226 million.

The company reaffirmed its 2008 earnings guidance for fully diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be between $1.36 and $1.46.