Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., with research operations in Wallingford, said Thursday its first-quarter profit jumped 33 percent, due to higher sales, a payment from a lawsuit and a charge a year earlier, The Associated Press reports.
Bristol-Myers, which sells blockbuster blood thinner Plavix and bipolar disorder treatment Abilify, said its net income was $986 million, or 57 cents per share. That’s up from $743 million, or 43 cents per share, in 2010’s first quarter.
Excluding several small accounting charges and gains, net income was $1 billion, or 58 cents per share.
Revenue rose 4 percent to $5.01 billion, from $4.81 billion a year ago, on higher sales of blockbuster blood thinner Plavix and several other medicines.
The results topped the expectations of analysts surveyed by FactSet, who were anticipating earnings per share of 53 cents and revenue of $4.98 billion. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.
New York-based Bristol noted the Food and Drug Administration approved an important new skin cancer drug during the quarter.
The company also confirmed the 2011 profit forecast it gave in January, for earnings per share of $2 to $2.10, or $2.10 to $2.20 excluding one-time items.
