NEW YORK (AFP) - Bristol-Myers Squibb said its third-quarter profit dipped 16 percent from a year ago to 758 million dollars as the pharmaceutical giant boosted research in the face of expiring patents.
The earnings amounted to 38 cents a share, or 44 cents without counting special charges. Wall Street was expecting a profit of 39 cents without charges.
Revenues were up just one percent to 5.4 billion dollars, helped by favorable currency effects.
Chairman and chief executive Peter Dolan said the company was following through on its plan to transform its drugs portfolio to build or strengthen leadership position in 10 disease areas.
"As part of this strategy, we continue to increase investment in research and development, and expect that investment to grow in the 12 percent range for the year," Dolan said in a statement.
"Nevertheless, as we have discussed previously, our earnings will continue to be pressured through our portfolio transition to the end of 2006 as a result of exclusivity losses of higher margin products, as well as higher investments in (research) and key product support."
Bristol-Myers reiterated that it anticipates "substantial incremental sales losses" in 2005, 2006 and 2007 representing continuing declines in sales of the products that lost or will lose exclusivity protection in 2003 and 2004.
There also will be declines attributable to products that will lose exclusivity protection primarily in 2005 and 2006, the company said.
10/29/2004 - 17:37 GMT - AFP