Der heutige Artikel aus der New York Times (s. u.) könnte Pfizer - zu Unrecht - einbrechen lassen. Die NYT schreibt, Pfizers Gewinne wären um 87 % gefallen, wegen der Probleme mit Bextra und Celebrex. Das ist natürlich Unsinn. Wie wir wissen, sind die "bereinigten" Gewinne um 1 cent pro Aktie gestiegen (siehe Posting 355 und kursive Hervorhebung unten - von mir). Deshalb war Pfizer gestern auch anfangs auf knapp 28 Dollar gestiegen. Am Ende stand die Aktie bei 27,20 USD. Falls die Panikmache der NYT funktioniert, käme heute der erhoffte Rückschlag für den Wiedereinstieg - zumal nun alle Welt wieder Tech-Aktien wie Intel will und "defensive" Pharmaaktien mal wieder in den Hintergrund treten.
NEW YORK TIMES April 20, 2005 Pfizer Earnings Plunge 87% on Painkillers' Problems By STEPHANIE SAUL
The world's largest drug maker, Pfizer, reported sharply lower first-quarter earnings yesterday, partly because of the fallout from its controversial cox-2 inhibitor painkillers, Bextra and Celebrex.
The company took a $766 million charge related to the withdrawal of Bextra from the market and reported lower sales of its other arthritis drug, Celebrex.
A rival health care company, Johnson & Johnson, reported a double-digit earnings increase on record sales yesterday, driven largely by strong growth in medical devices. Johnson & Johnson also increased its earnings guidance for the year.
Pfizer earned $301 million, or 4 cents a share, a drop of 87 percent from the $2.33 billion, or 31 cents a share, it earned in the first quarter of 2004.
Pfizer, which is based in New York, said that in addition to its cox-2 problems, results this year would be affected by the loss of United States exclusivity on four major drugs: Diflucan, Neurontin and Accupril during 2004 and Zithromax in 2005.
But the picture was not all gloomy, thanks largely to continuing double-digit growth of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, one of the world's top-selling medicines. Sales of the drug increased 23 percent, to $3.08 billion in the first quarter. Pfizer's overall sales rose nearly 5 percent to $13.09 billion.
Without one-time charges, Pfizer's earnings were $4 billion, or 54 cents a share, exceeding Wall Street expectations by one penny.
In a statement, Pfizer's chief executive, Henry A. McKinnell Jr., characterized the company's performance as steady, but he said 2005 would be a transitional year. Dr. McKinnell said the company's size, as well as the breadth of its portfolio and pipeline, would permit it to "marshal and refocus resources."
Bextra was withdrawn from the market early this month, but negative publicity surrounding the cox-2 inhibitors had already led to a sales decline in the first quarter. Bextra revenue dropped to $56 million, 79 percent less than the $270 million in the first quarter of 2004. The Food and Drug Administration asked Pfizer to stop selling Bextra because of evidence linking it to a rare but serious skin disorder. Pfizer said it disagreed with the F.D.A.'s risk-benefit analysis of Bextra and was meeting with regulators in an effort to resume sales of the drug.
Celebrex remains on the market, but its sales were down to $411 million, the company said, as consumers and physicians focused on reports about heart risks associated with drugs in the cox-2 class. In the first quarter of 2004, Pfizer sold $769 million worth of Celebrex.
Johnson & Johnson's record sales of $12.83 billion, up 11 percent, reflected stronger sales of medical devices as well as continued growth in some of its pharmaceutical products. Net income was $2.93 billion, or 97 cents a share, compared with $2.49 billion, or 83 cents, a year earlier, an increase of 17.7 percent.
Sales of Remicade, which is used to treat autoimmune disorders, were up 22 percent, to $501 million. Sales of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal also increased, by 16 percent, to $844 million. Revenue from the epilepsy drug Topamax increased 24 percent, to $406 million, partly because it has been approved to treat migraines.
The company, based in New Brunswick, N.J., said generic competition hurt sales for some big drugs, including contraceptives and the painkiller patch Duragesic.
The company also said that it was talking with the F.D.A. about revised labeling for Natrecor, an intravenous drug that is used to treat severe heart failure. Articles in the medical publications Circulation and The Journal of the American Medical Association have raised questions about the drug's safety. |