(Reuters) – Drugmaker Merck & Co on Thursday posted better-than-expected first-quarter results on the strength of its blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil.
The company’s revenue fell year-over-year due to a sharp, but expected, drop in sales from its COVID pill molnupiravir, but excluding that drug they rose more than 10 percent. It raised its full-year forecast for sales and earnings, citing strong global demand for its drugs.
Merck said its sales in the quarter were $14.5 billion, down from $15.9 billion last year. Analysts, on average, had expected sales of $13.8 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The company said it earned $1.40 a share in the quarter, compared with $2.14 a share last year. Analysts, on average, had expected $1.32 a share.
Sales of Keytruda rose 20% to $5.8 billion in the quarter, topping the average analyst forecast of $5.6 billion. Gardasil sales rose 35% to $2 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.7 billion.
Sales for COVID treatment molnupiravir – sold under the brand name Lagevrio – fell to $392 million from $3.2 billion last year. The company has said it expects just $1 billion of molnupiravir sales this year.
It forecast 2023 sales of $57.7 billion to $58.9 billion, up from its previous forecast of $57.2 billion to $58.7 billion. It now expects to earn $6.88 to $7 a share.
Analysts, on average, expect 2023 earnings of $6.91 a share on sales of $58.3 billion.
Earlier this month, Merck struck a deal to buy Prometheus Biosciences Inc for about $10.8 billion, picking up a promising experimental treatment for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease and building up its presence in immunology.
Merck has been looking for deals to protect itself from eventual revenue loss as patents on Keytruda begin to expire toward the end of the decade. The company reported nearly $21 billion in Keytruda sales last year.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; editing by Diane Craft)
