Merck & Co Inc. Q3 Profit Increases, Beats Estimates

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

The company's bottom line totaled $5.785 billion, or $2.32 per share. This compares with $3.157 billion, or $1.24 per share, last year.

Excluding items, Merck & Co Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $6.448 billion or $2.58 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.35 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the period rose 3.7% to $17.276 billion from $16.657 billion last year.

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

-Earnings: $5.785 Bln. vs. $3.157 Bln. last year. -EPS: $2.32 vs. $1.24 last year. -Revenue: $17.276 Bln vs. $16.657 Bln last year.

-Guidance: Full year EPS guidance: $8.93 - $8.98 Full year revenue guidance: $64.5 - $65.0 Bln