Pfizer posts Q4 loss, misses Street views, on lower revenue

Pfizer’s ongoing restructuring is significantly reducing revenue, resulting in a $337 million loss in its fourth quarter and a slight miss of Wall Street’s profit expectations.

The biggest US drugmaker, which is divesting lower-profit segments to focus on its more lucrative new prescription drugs business, on Tuesday reported a net loss of 6 cents per share. That was mainly due to shifting its consumer health business into a joint venture last year. In the year-earlier quarter, Pfizer lost $394 million, or 7 cents per share.

Adjusted earnings of $3.11 billion, or 55 cents per share, fell short of the 58 cents a share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Revenue totaled $12.69 billion in the October-December quarter. That topped the $12.61 billion that analysts were expecting, but was 9% lower than a year earlier. Sales in emerging markets like China and India jumped 14% to $3.24 billion. Pfizer Biopharma, its innovative prescription drug business, posted quarterly revenue of $10.53 billion, led by Prevnar 13, Eliquis, rheumatoid arthritis pill Xeljanz and breast cancer pill Ibrance.

Its Upjohn business, which sells off-patent drugs such as Lipitor and Viagra, had revenue of $2.16 billion. In early trading, Pfizer shares fell $1.30, or 3.2%, to $38.86

The New York-based company has been steadily working through a major slim down to focus on developing new drugs.

Last July, Pfizer moved its huge stable of nonprescription medicines – including pain reliever Advil and Centrum vitamins – into a new joint venture with partner GlaxoSmithKline. Pfizer owns 32% of the JV, which brought Pfizer a profit of $129 million in the quarter. Meanwhile, Pfizer plans to combine its Upjohn business with generic drugmaker Mylan by mid-summer to create a new drugmaker called Viatris. (AP)