Drugmaker Merck & Co. said Friday that its first-quarter profit jumped 67 percent despite lower-than-expected sales, due to lower spending on production, marketing and research as well as an arbitration charge a year ago.
The maker of Singulair for asthma and allergies said net income was $1.74 billion, or 56 cents per share, up from $1.04 billion, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items such as integration of acquired businesses, Merck would have earned $3.04 billion, or 99 cents per share, up from $2.86 billion, or 92 cents per share, in 2011′s first quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 98 cents.
Revenue was $11.73 billion, up 1.3 percent from $11.58 billion. Analysts expected $11.83 billion.
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