icon-avatar
Salud Bienestar

Wyeth posts flat profit, but raises forecast

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wyeth reported flat third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, hurt by generic competition for its Protonix ulcer drug, but the company raised its 2008 profit forecast due to surging demand for its Enbrel arthritis drug and Prevnar vaccine for young children.

    Wyeth said it earned $1.14 billion, or 84 cents per share, compared with $1.15 billion, or 84 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

    Excluding special items, Wyeth earned 90 cents per share. Analysts on average expected 90 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

    Wyeth said it was raising the lower end of its full-year 2008 forecast despite "a tough economy." It now expects earnings of $3.49 to $3.55 per share, excluding special items, up from its earlier view of $3.47 to $3.55 a share.

    Wyeth shares rights with Amgen to Enbrel in the United States and Canada. Wyeth's share of sales in those markets rose 23 percent to $294 million. Sales in other markets, where Wyeth has exclusive rights to the drug, increased 32 percent to $697 million.

    (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

    WhatsAppFacebookFacebookTwitterTwitterLinkedinLinkedinBeloudBeloudBluesky