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NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer overcame a strong dollar and patent expirations to beat Wall Street projections for the first quarter, though it cut its outlook for the year citing both.
The company's guidance on revenue for 2015 includes a negative impact of $3.3 billion from currency exchange, and $3.5 billion from generic competition.
Still, the New York drugmaker reported a 2 percent bump in profit to just under $2.38 billion, or 38 cents per share. Adjusted profit was 51 cents per share, a penny better than expected, according to a survey of analysts by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue fell 4 percent to $10.86 billion, but that also edged out Wall Street expectations.
Sales Pfizer's pain and arthritis drug Celebrex fell 67 percent to $205 million because of generic competition. Sales of the antibiotic Zyvox fell 10 percent to $271 million. The company also terminated its co-promotion of the bronchodilator Spiriva in most countries.
To boost sales, the company announced earlier this year that it would buy Hospira Inc. for approximately $15.23 billion. The company hopes to tap into the growing market for biosimilars, which are cheaper versions of biologic drugs that are used to treat conditions such as anemia.
"This business represents an excellent strategic fit in growing market segments and is expected to accelerate the growth trajectory of our Global Established Pharmaceuticals business," said Chairman and CEO Ian Read in a printed statement Tuesday.
The company now expects adjusted profit between $1.95 and $2.05 on revenue between $44 billion and $46 billion. Previously, it forecast profit of $2 to $2.10 per share on revenue between $44.5 and $46 billion.
Shares of Pfizer Inc. rose slightly in premarket trading and are close to a 10-year high after an 11 percent jump this year.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PFE at http://www.zacks.com/ap/PFE
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Keywords: Pfizer, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings
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