Pfizer Inc., issuing its first financial report since losing patent protection on blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor, said today that adjusted earnings in the fourth quarter rose 6 percent.
Fourth-quarter revenues came in at $16.7 billion for the world's leading drugmaker, which has its largest worldwide research site in Groton. That's down 4 percent from the same period in 2010, when Pfizer's sales totaled $17.4 billion.
U.S. revenues of $6.3 billion fell 12 percent compared with the year-ago quarter, while international revenues of $10.4 billion represented a 3 percent increase. Domestic drug sales in the fourth quarter represented only 38 percent of total revenues for the New York-based company, compared with 41 percent a year ago.
Adjusted earnings of 50 cents a share in the fourth quarter were 3 cents above consensus Wall Street estimates.
Affecting reported profits, which were down 50 percent from the previous year's fourth quarter, was the cost of hormone-replacement therapy litigation and charges associated with company layoffs and consolidations. Also, a favorable settlement with the IRS related to Pfizer and Pharmacia tax audits had been recorded in 2010 and wasn't reflected in the 2011 numbers.
"I am pleased with our 2011 financial performance, which was achieved in the face of a challenging global market and product losses of exclusivity of approximately $5 billion," said Ian Read, Pfizer's chairman and chief executive, in a statement.
For the full year, Pfizer's revenues totaled $67.4 billion, up 1 percent from the previous year, thanks largely to the positive impact of foreign exchange.
But Pfizer doesn't expect the foreign-exchange bonus of 2 percent last year to continue, and therefore has adjusted earnings projections for 2012 slightly downward. Reported revenues for this year are now expected to be $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion, down from the $62.2 billion to $64.7 billion previously expected.
Research-and-development expenses, which have been cut severely in the past year, are projected to be $6.5 billion to $7 billion in the current year. That's down from more than $9.4 billion during 2010.
"We achieved our cost-reduction target associated with the Wyeth integration one year earlier than anticipated, generating more than $4 billion in reductions," said Frank D'Amelio, Pfizer's chief financial officer, in a statement. "The strength of our balance sheet and operating cash flow enabled us to return $15.2 billion to our shareholders in 2011 through $6.2 billion in dividends and $9 billion from the repurchase of 459 million shares."
