Schering-Plough 4Q profit up 75 percent

Schering-Plough 4Q profit up 75 percent

	Published : Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:32 By : Agencies Print this Story

KENILWORTH, N.J. (AFX) - Drug maker Schering-Plough Corp. said Monday its fourth-quarter profit surged 75 percent as strong sales of its Remicade and Nasonex treatments helped offset rising costs.

Net income after paying preferred dividends totaled $182 million, or 12 cents per share, up from $104 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago. The latest quarter includes a charge of 4 cents per share to streamline the company's manufacturing operations and a charge of a penny per share to license an over-the-counter heartburn treatment.

Excluding items, the company posted profit of 17 cents per share, in line with Wall Street's consensus estimate, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

Sales grew 14 percent to $2.65 billion from $2.32 billion a year ago, beating analysts' forecast of $2.53 billion. The company said results were helped by a 34 percent rise in sales of anti-inflammatory Remicade to $337 million. Global Nasonex sales rose 37 percent to $253 million, with U.S. sales climbing 48 percent to $171 million.

Sales from its global cholesterol joint venture with Merck & Co., which include Vytorin and Zetia, totaled $1.1 billion in the 2006 fourth quarter, up from $755 million in the 2005 period. Adjusting total sales results to include joint venture sales, Schering-Plough said it posted $3.2 billion of revenue, up 18 percent from $2.7 billion in the year-earlier period.

The company said sales of its Peg-Intron hepatitis C product declined 3 percent to $208 million primarily due to lower sales in Japan, as a result of the moderation of new patient enrollments into hepatitis C therapy.

Selling, general and administrative costs grew 12 percent to $1.3 billion, reflecting ongoing investments in emerging markets and field support for new product launches, as well as higher promotional spending. Research and development spending increased 33 percent to $631 million due to higher clinical trial costs and an upfront payment associated with the company's licensing of an OTC version of heartburn medication Zegerid.