Bristol-Myers Squibb

Earnings roundup: BMS to cut $1B more

Tracy Staton — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:05:32 -0400

Big Pharma inundated the market with earnings reports the last two days, for the most part surpassing analyst expectations. But the reports buried some of the biggest news: That Bristol-Myers Squibb is plotting a major add-on to its $1.5 billion restructuring, and that GlaxoSmithKline's embattled diabetes med Avandia saw sales plummet by almost half. Here are the highlights:

Bristol-Myers Squibb reported better-than-expected revenues of $5.2 billion, up from $4.47 billion a year earlier, with adjusted earnings at 43 cents per share, up from 31 cents. Star performers for the company included its clot-buster Plavix and psych drug Abilify, whose sales rose 17 percent and 28 percent respectively. Results also benefited from the company's $1.5 billion cost-cutting program--which it plans to expand by an additional $1 billion. No details yet on how.
Eli Lilly profits soared by 45 percent for the quarter to $958 million, or 88 cents a share, on an 11 percent increase in revenues to $5.15 billion. Its antidepressant Cymbalta saw sales grow by 26 percent, with a 19 percent increase domestically and a whopping 80 percent rise on the international market. Tadalafil, the ED treatment, grew sales by 24 percent.
Pfizer's profits more than doubled to $2.78 billion on strong international sales growth, which offset generic competition in the U.S. Sales grew by 9.5 percent to $12.13 billion, but U.S. revenues dropped by 2 percent as the allergy med Zyrtec and cancer drug Camptosar went generic. Lipitor sales grew by 9 percent, largely internationally.
GlaxoSmithKline beat market expectations, numbers-wise, on strong vaccine and asthma-drug sales. But analysts are concerned about a 46 percent drop in sales of the diabetes med Avandia and disappointing results in its consumer health business.
Wyeth sales grew 5 percent to $5.9 billion, with almost all of that increase coming from the weak dollar; its net income fell by 6 percent to $1.12 billion, including charges related to its cost-cutting program. Excluding those charges, its EPS of 91 cents beat analyst estimates. The company's lead product, the antidepressant Effexor, grew sales by 5 percent, and its pneumonia vaccine Prevnar boosted revenues by 9 percent.

- find Lilly's results at the Wall Street Journal
- check out Bristol's report at CNN Money
- get the Pfizer and Wyeth news at CNN Money
- read the GSK consensus in Forbes

BMS pays $500M on fraud suits

Christe Bruderlin-Nelson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:27:34 -0400

Back to the (sigh) pharma Medicaid fraud suits, Bristol-Myers Squibb is squabbling while several states are smiling. New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Georgia and Connecticut are just a few of the 43 states who can expect to recoup some cash, and the word is that New York received as much as $40 million.

The company faced allegations ranging from kickbacks and unfair pricing to paying pharmacies and wholesalers "improper inducements," resulting in losses of $389 million to state Medicaid programs. A September Department of Justice ruling determined the company would pay about $500 million to several states.

Apothecon, a former generics subsidy of Bristol-Myers, was a major player in the allegations. Also under question was improper and illegal marketing of Abilify for use in vulnerable children and the elderly, although it had not been an approved antipsychotic medication in either population at the time. Similarly, there were inaccurate pricing reports for the antidepressant, Serzone, and the company illegally paid physicians and other healthcare providers to promote the use of its products to the poor, according to the suit.

The suit is more than just a monetary one, as Bristol-Myers Squibb is now in a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services to help prevent future misdeeds. The payments went out Tuesday.

- read more from the WSJ Blog
- see the Boston Globe story
- here's what The Weekly local paper said

Bristol-Myers Squibb's James Cornelius - CEO Pay

Tracy Staton — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:53:27 -0400

James Cornelius - Bristol-Myers Squibb

Total Compensation: $11.3

2007 Revenue: $19.3B
2006 Revenue: $17.9B
Change: 7.8%

Details: Cornelius' base salary in 2007 was $1.4 million, up from $380,000 the year before. He also landed a $1.1 million bonus, $2.2 million in incentive pay, plus various perks such as jet travel, including $205,000 for an eight-month housing allowance. Most of his compensation came in the form of stock awards, which were worth about $8.4 million.

BMS News:
BMS: Buyer or buyout target?
BMS chief nabs $10 million raise
Cornelius get big payday for BMS temp job
Bristol CEO: Job cuts, shutdowns continue

BMS: Buyer or buyout target?

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Market-watchers love to speculate. Their latest topic? Bristol-Myers Squibb, which has been paring away its "non-core" businesses over the last few months. Most recently, Bristol agreed to sell off its ConvaTec wound-care unit for $4.1 billion. Now, it's planning to spin off 10 percent to 20 percent of its Mead Johnson baby formula business in an IPO--a deal that could fetch up to $9.1 billion.

Why the sell-offs? One train of thought: BMS is primping for a suitor. By slenderizing, it's making itself more attractive to a bigger drugmaker--say Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, or Sanofi-Aventis.

Another train of thought: Bristol could be gathering up cash for a war chest of its own. That would allow BMS to snap up smaller drug companies to shore up its product portfolio.

- check out the item at Seeking Alpha
- see the skinny at Blogging Stocks
- read Jim Cramer's prognostications at The Street

Bristol profits leap on Plavix sales

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Bristol-Myers Squibb's third-quarter results show what one big drug can do. Net income more than doubled to $858 million on revenues of $5.1 billion--and Plavix was the biggest reason. Third quarter last year, generic Plavix hit the market, sending sales of the clot-fighting drug into a downward spiral. Bristol's results sagged, too.

But in June, the company won a patent fight over the drug, now protected through 2011. Meanwhile, stocks of the generic form have run low, forcing patients back to the brand-name product. So Plavix sales almost doubled to $1.25 billion during the quarter.

Sales of other Bristol drugs grew, too. Abilify revenues jumped 34 percent, for instance. But it was Plavix that made the difference--and while it may bode well for Bristol in the short term, it quantifies just how much trouble Big Pharma faces from generic competition as its major patents expire.

- see the financial results from Bristol-Myers
- read the report for more

Related Articles:
Patent victory reignites rumors of BMS takeover. Report
Better times ahead for BMS? Report
Generic Plavix grabs big market share. Report
Top 5 deals of the first half of 2007: BMS and AZ. Special report

BMS cancer med could earn $500M

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:59:54 -0400

Analysts are rubbing their hands over the FDA's approval of Ixempra, a Bristol-Myers Squibb breast cancer treatment, predicting $500 million in annual sales by 2010. The drug got the agency's nod as a stand-alone treatment for patients who've failed other chemotherapy and for use in tandem with Roche's Xeloda in patients whose cancer has spread. A treatment course of Ixempra is expected to cost $18,000 to $23,000.

- see the BMS release
- check out the report from The Star-Ledger
- read the article from PharmaTimes

Related Articles:
BMS pays $505M for Adnexus. Report
Better times ahead for BMS? Report
Cornelius get big payday for BMS temp job. Report

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