Pfizer profits slump as rivals grow stronger

Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, went against the trend yesterday as it reported a slump in profits due to the suspension of its key arthritis drug Bextra and the impact of repatriating profits.

The results contrasted with quarterly figures from other major healthcare groups out yesterday, including Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb.

Pfizer, which employs 1,100 people in Cork and Dublin, reported profits of $301 million (€231 million), or just four US cents a share, compared to 30 cents a year earlier. The company said earnings per share would have been 54 cents but for the impact of "special items".

The group further lowered its full-year earnings forecast to $1.98 per share, down 7 per cent on 2004, but continued to expect growth in 2006 and 2007.

The suspension of Bextra following an FDA finding that the risks from its side effects outweighed its benefits hurt the company, which is facing increasing competition from generic products. Its landmark impotence drug Viagra is also facing increasing competition from rival Eli Lilly's Cialis.

Medical devices leader Boston Scientific saw profits jump, largely on the success of its Taxus stent, which was designed and is produced at its Galway plant. Boston Scientific, which employs 3,600 people in Ireland, two-thirds of them in Galway, said a 49 per cent rise in sales of the stent had underpinned an 85 per cent rise in profits after tax to $358 million or 42 US cents a share. Sales in the three-month period came to $1.62 billion, up from $1.08 billion in the first quarter of 2004.

Johnson & Johnson also bettered market expectations, driven by double-digit growth in international sales of its pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

The company, which employs close to 1,500 people in Ireland, also announced the $245 million cash acquisition of private US biotech company Peninsula Pharmaceuticals. The group reported profits of $2.9 billion or 97 US cents per share in the first quarter, compared to 83 cents last year and analyst forecasts of 92 cents. Turnover jumped 11 per cent to $12.8 billion, with international sales rising by 20.1 per cent, partially boosted by the impact of a weaker dollar.

Eyecare products group Bausch & Lomb, which employs 1,700 people in Waterford, saw profits jump 47 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. - (Additional reporting, Reuters)