Merck beats by $0.17, beats on revs; raises FY19 EPS and rev outlook (76.78)
- Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.22 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.17 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $1.05; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $10.82 bln vs the $10.45 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus, excluding the negative impact from foreign exchange, worldwide sales grew 11%. International sales represented 58% of total sales in the quarter. Performance in international markets was led by China, which had sales growth of 58% compared with the first quarter of 2018, driven by vaccines and oncology. Excluding the unfavorable effect of foreign exchange, sales in China grew by 67%.
- First-quarter pharmaceutical sales were $9.7 billion, an increase of 8% compared with the first quarter of 2018; excluding the unfavorable effect of foreign exchange, sales grew 12% in the first quarter. The increase was driven primarily by growth in oncology and vaccines, partially offset by the ongoing impacts of the loss of market exclusivity for several products.
- Growth in oncology was driven by a significant increase in sales of KEYTRUDA, reflecting the strong momentum for the treatment of patients with NSCLC and the company's continued launches with new indications globally.
- Keytruda sales +55% to $2.27 bln; Januvia/Janumet -5% to 1.35 bln.
- Co issues guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $4.67-4.79 from $4.57-4.72, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.68 S&P Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY19 revs of $43.9-45.1 bln from $43.2-44.7 bln vs. $44.5 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus