Merck earnings top estimates amid solid demand for Keytruda cancer drug

Investing.com -- Merck and Co. (NYSE: MRK) has posted better-than-anticipated third-quarter profit thanks to solid demand for its crucial cancer treatment Keytruda, although the drugmaker warned of ongoing sluggishness in sales of its Gardasil vaccine in China.

Earnings for the three months ended on Sept. 30 came in at $3.99 billion, or $1.57 per share, dipping from the year-ago period due to acquisition-related expenses. However, the figure still topped expectations of $1.50, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.

Underpinning the return were Keytruda sales, which jumped by 17% to $7.43 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts.
However, sales of Gardasil, a treatment for cancers caused by the human papillomavirus, dropped by 11% to a lower-than-projected $2.31 billion. Chief Executive Rob Davis said it was a "demand issue driven by the economy," while there was also some impact on promotional activity linked to concerns around recent campaign in China targeting bribery of doctors, Reuters reported.

Group-wide sales also moved up by 4% to $16.66 billion, above estimates of $16.45 billion.

Meanwhile, the company narrowed its full-year sales forecast, citing a solid growth and new product launches as well as a negative impact from foreign exchange headwinds.

For the 2024 fiscal year, sales are seen at $63.6 billion to $64.1 billion, compared to an earlier range of $63.4 billion to $64.4 billion. Adjusted per-share income is now tipped to come in at $7.72 to %7.77, down from an earlier band of $7.94 to $8.04.

Shares in Merck and Co. were little changed in premarket US trading on Thursday.

(Reuters contributed reporting.)

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