Drug giant Pfizer Inc., which has research and development operations in Groton and New London, said today its second-quarter profit plunged 19 percent, as the strong dollar pulled down revenue, and higher taxes and costs for its pending purchase of rival Wyeth hurt the bottom line.
Still, Pfizer raised its 2009 profit forecast slightly.
The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and stop-smoking drug Chantix said its net income was $2.26 billion, or 34 cents per share. That compares with net income of $2.78 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2008.
Excluding charges totaling 14 cents per share, Pfizer’s earnings per share were 48 cents, topping analyst estimates by a penny.
Revenue totaled $10.98 billion, down 9 percent from $12.13 billion in the second quarter of 2008.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings per share of 47 cents and revenue of $11.27 billion.
Pfizer expects to close on its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth — the biggest deal in the industry this year — late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter. On Monday, 98 percent of Wyeth shareholders voted to approve the deal, which still requires approval from some regulators.
Sales were down in all five of New York-based Pfizer’s business units, dropping the most, 20 percent, in the one marketing established products that have lost patent protection and whose sales are generally eroding.
Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker by sales, said unfavorable exchange rates reduced revenue by $1.1 billion, or 9 percent. (AP)
