Pfizer’s Profit Soars, Beating Expectations

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.

Wall Street has been worried about Lipitor sales because this summer Zocor, a competing drug from Merck & Co., will lose its patent protection. Analysts fear managed-care companies will aggressively favor an inexpensive, generic version of Zocor instead of Lipitor.

Pfizer “admitted 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.

Pfizer shares fell 11 cents to $24.82.

Meanwhile, healthcare-product maker Abbott Laboratories Inc. said its first-quarter profit rose 3%, helped by soaring international sales of its drugs.

Net income for the quarter grew to $864.9 million on sales of $5.18 billion.

Shares of Abbott fell 34 cents to $41.34.

German drug maker Schering’s profit rose 21% in the first quarter to 174 million euros ($210 million), driven by sales of its multiple sclerosis treatment, Betaferon, and its oral contraceptive, Yasmin.

Schering’s sales jumped 16% to 1.41 billion euros ($1.7 billion).