Merck & Co Inc. Q1 Profit Increases, Beats Estimates

(RTTNews) - Merck & Co Inc. (MRK) announced a profit for its first quarter that increased from the same period last year and beat the Street estimates.

The company's earnings came in at $5.079 billion, or $2.01 per share. This compares with $4.762 billion, or $1.87 per share, last year.

Excluding items, Merck & Co Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $5.611 billion or $2.22 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.14 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the period fell 1.6% to $15.529 billion from $15.775 billion last year.

Merck & Co Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings: $5.079 Bln. vs. $4.762 Bln. last year. -EPS: $2.01 vs. $1.87 last year. -Revenue: $15.529 Bln vs. $15.775 Bln last year.

-Guidance: Full year EPS guidance: $8.82 - $8.97 Full year revenue guidance: $64.1 - $65.6 Bln