NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co , which has been hobbled by declining sales of several of its biggest medicines, said on Thursday that it expected 2009 earnings and revenue below Wall Street forecasts.
Merck said it expected earnings, excluding special items, of $3.15 to $3.30 per share. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates were expecting $3.52, on average.
On Wednesday, some analysts had predicted Merck would issue a conservative 2009 forecast, given uncertain foreign currency factors in the coming year.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson and Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
