US pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. has increased its first-quarter 2025 net income by 7%, but at the same time lowered its year-end adjusted earnings forecast.
Merck said in a press release that its net income in the January-March quarter was $5.08 billion, or $2.01 per share, compared with $4.76 billion, or $1.87 per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Earnings excluding one-time factors rose to $2.22 per share from $2.07 per share, beating the consensus forecast of $2.14 per share from analysts surveyed by FactSet.
The company’s quarterly revenue fell 2% to $15.53 billion from $15.78 billion a year earlier, with analysts’ average forecast of $15.36 billion. Excluding foreign exchange, the figure rose 1%.
Revenue at Merck’s pharmaceuticals division fell 3% to $13.64bn last quarter, with sales of the company’s most popular drug Keytruda, used in the treatment of cancer, up 4% to $7.2bn.
Revenue in the veterinary drugs division rose 5% to $1.59bn.
The company reaffirmed its revenue forecast for the current year at $64.1-65.6bn, but at the same time cut its adjusted earnings forecast to $8.82-8.97 per share from its January forecast of $8.88-9.03 per share.
Merck shares added 1.3 per cent during earlier trading on Thursday. Since the beginning of this year, their value has fallen by 20.9%.