Boston, MA 02/06/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Merck &Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) reported mixed earnings for its fourth quarter for F2013 that saw its revenue drop slightly to $11.3 billion compared to similar quarter of F2012 of $11.7 billion. Earnings per share as a result stood at $0.88 at the back of the $11.32 billion revenue. Full year report indicates a slight drop with earnings per share coming in at $3.49 at the back of total revenues of $44.03 billion this is in comparison to F2012 earnings per share of $3.82 billion and total revenue of $47.72 billion. The slight decline in performance during the year has been attributed to restructuring charges that stood at $1.71 billion for the entire year.
Merck F2014 estimates
Merck &Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) gross margin fell in F2013 from highs of 64.6% in F2012 to lows of 59.3% in F2013 caused by the increase in costs of restructuring and acquisition costs. The decline on Gross margin also indicates effects of lost patent protection and pricing pressure from mature markets. Merck projects earnings per share in the range of $3.35 -$3.53 in F2014 slightly average to consensus estimate of $3.48. Full year revenue is also expected to be in the range of $42.4 to $42.2 billion with consensus estimates coming in at $43.35 billion.
Merck enters into agreement with Pfizer (PFE) Amgen (AMGN) and Incyte (INCY)
Merck &Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has entered into agreement with PFE, AMGN and INCY as it tries to accelerate and evaluate its MK-3475 immunotherapy cancer treatment a drug it intends to launch into the market for unleashing body’s immune system to target cancer cells. Merck is also thought to have signed an agreement with Belgian biotech Ablynx (ABLYF) for the development of cancer immunotherapies a deal that is thought to be worth €1.7B inclusive of royalties and sales of the products.
Merck &Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) closed the day on Wednesday at a stable price of $53.53
