Pfizer reports Q1 revenue of $16.5bn

Pfizer has announced Q1 2011 sales of $16.5bn, consistent with the same period in 2010.

Reported net income for the quarter was up by 10 per cent however, increasing from $2.0bn to $2.2bn.

Significant events included the loss of patent exclusivity in Canada and Spain for Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) – the company's market-leading cholesterol drug – with generic competition leading to a negative impact on revenue for Pfizer's primary care business unit. The company also suffered loss in profit due to the patent expiry in the US for Alzheimer's therapy Aricept (donepezil). Combined, this equated to lost revenue of around $590m for Q1 2011 when compared with Q1 2010.

Pfizer's speciality care unit experienced strong growth in the quarter from the Prevnar/ Prevenar (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine) franchise, Enbrel (etanercept) and Zyvox (linezolid), with growth being particularly strong in the US and Japan.

The loss of patent exclusivity also had a negative impact in the established products unit, due in particular to increased competition for Effexor (venlafaxine), Protonix  (pantoprazole) and Zosyn/ Tazocin piperacillin and tazobactam). However, the addition of legacy products from the King portfolio helped to balance out this loss.

Emerging markets growth of $915m was due in part to Enbrel, Lyrica  (pregabalin), Sutent (sunitinib malate) and Vfend (voricanazole).

Ian Read, president and CEO of Pfizer said: "I am pleased not only with our solid financial performance during the first quarter despite the loss of exclusivity of several products in the US and other geographies, but also with our ability to enhance shareholder value through various initiatives, including our increased share repurchase activity so far this year. Many of our products, notably the Prevnar/Prevenar franchise and Lyrica, continued to perform well. In addition, our Emerging Markets unit delivered 8 per cent operational growth, driven by many of our priority countries, notably China, and continued to benefit from our ongoing targeted investment."

Read also reported that during 2011, Pfizer expect to present phase III clinical data for tofacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis, axitinib for renal cell carcinoma, Prevnar/Prevenar 13 for the prevention of pneumococcal disease in adults, and Eliquis for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation, as well as phase II clinical data for crizotinib for non-small cell lung cancer, among others.

Frank D'Amelio, Pfizer's chief financial officer, said: "Given our performance during the first quarter as well as our continued confidence in the business, we are reaffirming our 2011 financial guidance and 2012 financial targets. Additionally, reflecting the continued confidence in our business, the strength of our balance sheet and our view that our shares represent a good investment for our stakeholders at the current valuation, we repurchased approximately $1.4bn, or 73.5m shares, of our common stock during the first quarter of 2011 and a total of approximately $2.2bn, or 110.5m shares, through April 30, 2011. 

"We now expect to repurchase between $5bn and $7bn of our common stock this year as we plan to redeploy the after-tax proceeds from the sale of Capsugel, once completed, into share repurchases and/or opportunistic business development transactions that are expected to meet or exceed the return on investment of share repurchases. In the first quarter of this year, we returned approximately $3.0bn to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, clearly demonstrating our commitment to provide greater shareholder return."