Pfizer revenue misses estimates as top drugs disappoint | Reuters

Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), the largest U.S. drugmaker, reported quarterly revenue that missed estimates as sales of its key drugs fell short of expectations.

Sales of breast cancer drug Ibrance, which is expected to face competition from rival Novartis AG’s (NOVN.S) Kisqali, rose more than 58 percent to $679 million, but missed the consensus estimate of $682 million, according to Barclays.

“Key franchises came in well below expectations, raising concerns about Pfizer’s ability go grow in the absence of M&A,” Goldman Sachs analysts said.

Sales of the company’s arthritis drug Xeljanz were particularly weak, the analysts said, adding that cancer drug Xtandi and Prevnar vaccine also came in lower than expectations.

Pfizer said three fewer selling days in the quarter, compared with the year-ago quarter, reduced sales by about $300 million, surprising some Wall Street analysts.

“Pfizer calls out a deficit of selling-days … Given that multiple major products fell just to the short side of our estimates, we are inclined to agree,” Bernstein analyst Richard Wagner wrote in a client note.

The company also lost marketing exclusivity for its depression drug Pristiq in the United States during the quarter.

Overall, sales of Pfizer’s array of patent-protected drugs jumped about 12 percent in the quarter to $7.42 billion, while sales of its generics and biosimilars fell 10 percent to $5.36 billion.

Revenue fell 1.7 percent to $12.78 billion, missing the average estimate of $13.09 billion.

Pfizer, which closed its $14 billion acquisition of Medivation Inc in September, said net profit rose to $3.12 billion, or 51 cents per share, in the first quarter, from $3.04 billion, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total expenses fell 6 percent to $7.49 billion in the quarter.

Excluding items, the company earned 69 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 67 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Pfizer reaffirmed its 2017 adjusted earnings forecast of $2.50-$2.60 per share on revenue of $52 billion-$54 billion.

The company’s shares were down 0.8 percent at $33.50 in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)