Pfizer Inc share price up, posts steady Q2 revenue and profit, lowers outlook

Pfizer Inc, the leading US drugmaker, posted quarterly earnings today, revealing steady revenue and profit, with declining sales for major divisions and climbing R&D expenses. Full-year outlook was slightly lowered, but still relatively positive.

The New York-based companys Q2 revenue was logged at $12.773 billion, down 2% from last year. Net income dropped 77% to $2.912 billion, or $0.45 per share, as last years Q2 profit is skewed by the sale of Pfizers animal health unit for about $10 billion. Excluding the divestment, net income rose 3.57%

“I am pleased with our operating performance to date. Our recently launched products continued to gain traction during the quarter,” Ian Read, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated. “I continue to see Pfizer as well positioned to effectively execute on our strategy to further strengthen each of our businesses on a global basis and deliver value to all of our stakeholders.”

Revenue from established and innovative pharmaceuticals, which account for 51% and 28% of total revenue, respectively, dropped by about 5% and 6%, respectively. The drop is attributed to several patents expiring, allowing for stiff competition for a number of drugs.

Vaccines, consumer healthcare and oncology medicines, however, added between 14% and 16% from a year ago.

Meanwhile, Pfizers expenses increased by 4% to $7.520 billion, with research and development adding a good 13% on an annual basis to $1.714 billion.

Also, Pfizer lowered its full-year revenue projection to $48.7 – $50.7 billion, down from $49.2 – $51.2 billion, with focus on more patents expiring, which could hurt performance.

The profit outlook “reflects our financial flexibility and confidence in the business going forward,” Chief Financial Officer Frank DAmelio said in the news release.

Pfizer recently unsuccessfully attempted to acquire UK-based AstraZeneca for a reported $120 billion, in a bid to lower its tax rate by a so-called tax inversion move, in which it would redomicile in the UK, where corporate taxes are 21%, compared to the US 35%.

A number of other US pharmaceutical companies already completed tax inversions, including Mylan and AbbVie, while Hospira also considers the option.

Pfizer Inc was up 0.30% to trade at $30.19 per share at 14:37 GMT, giving the company a market capitalization of $191.80 billion. According to the Financial Times, 16 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Pfizer Inc. have a median target of $34.50, with a high estimate of $41.00 and a low estimate of $30.00. The median estimate represents a 14.62% increase from the last price of $30.10.