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Wyeth Second-Quarter Earnings Rise 18 Percent on Strong Medication Sales

Posted on: Thursday, 21 July 2005, 03:01 CDT

Jul. 21--Wyeth's said yesterday that its second-quarter earnings rose 18 percent, driven by strong sales of its arthritis and heartburn medications, especially overseas.

The Madison, N.J., company, whose pharmaceutical headquarters are in Collegeville, also said production at its new factory in Ireland has taken off slightly better than expected.

In addition, it reported steady progress in settling roughly 60,000 remaining claims in its product-liability case involving the diet-drug combination known as fen-phen.

"Strong revenue growth is driving outstanding bottom-line performance," Ken Martin, chief financial officer, told analysts in a conference call. He said the company expected to hit the upper-end of its full-year earnings guidance of $2.80 to $2.90 per share.

Wyeth's second-quarter earnings were 72 cents per share, slightly ahead of the Wall Street consensus of 70 cents. Wyeth shares closed up $1.28, to $46.28 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bernard Poussot, the pharmaceutical division president, said second-quarter sales over the last year rose 11 percent in North America, 20 percent in Europe, 24 percent in Latin America, and 31 percent in the Asian-Pacific region.

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WYE,

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

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