teaser
Schering-Plough lost $3.36bn in the fourth quarter of 2007 due to accounting adjustments related to the purchase of Organon BioSciences NV, the group has revealed.
The pharmaceutical giant said the loss compared with a profit of $182m a year earlier.
Dutch biopharmaceutical group Organon was bought in November for about $14.43bn, and Schering-Plough believes the acquisition will allow it to expand its late-stage product pipeline and human health business.
Quarterly revenue rose 40% to $3.72bn from $2.65bn a year ago and exceeded analyst estimates of $3.1bn, and the group reported double-digit sales increases in each of its three segments, prescription pharmaceuticals, consumer health care and animal health.
Key profit drivers for Schering-Plough included the arthritis treatment Remicade (infliximab) and the allergy treatment Nasonex (mometasone).
Quarterly Remicade sales rose by 35% to $455m, while Nasonex sales rose 7% to $271m.
For the full year, the company reported a loss of $1.59bn, compared with a profit of $1.06bn, for 2006. But revenue for 2007 rose 20% to $12.69bn, surpassing analyst expectations of $12.07bn.
The group’s chairman Fred Hassan said: “Today, we are a much stronger and more diverse company than ever before, and we are better positioned to deal with the new challenges confronting us in 2008.”
Copyright © PA Business 2008
