Merck to Cut Up to 13,000 Jobs (转载)# Biology - 生物学
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发信人: bleu (好奇杀死猫), 信区: Pharmaceutical
标 题: Merck to Cut Up to 13,000 Jobs
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Fri Jul 29 10:17:30 2011, 美东)
By PETER LOFTUS
Merck & Co. said Friday that it would widen its cost-cutting measures by
eliminating up to 13,000 jobs—on top of the 17,000 layoffs in prior actions
—as the drug maker faces generic competition and other pressures.
The Whitehouse Station, N.J., company disclosed the job cuts as it reported
a near-tripling of second-quarter earnings on a tax benefit and other items.
Revenue rose 7% on sales growth for diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet, as
well as anti-inflammatory drug Remicade.
The new round of layoffs, due to be completed by 2015, means that Merck will
have eliminated about 30% of the work force it had at the end of 2009, in
the wake of its acquisition of Schering-Plough. Some of the reductions have
been offset by new hiring, however.
Merck said the new layoffs would save the company an additional $1.3 billion
to $1.5 billion in annual costs, on top of the expected $3.5 billion in
annual savings it expects to achieve by the end of 2012 from previously
announced cost-cutting actions. Merck's work force as of June 30 was 91,000.
"The realities of our environment dictate the need to operate more flexibly
and nimbly from a lower cost base," Merck Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier
said on a conference call with analysts. He said the company would reinvest
some of the savings in new growth opportunities when appropriate.
The cuts will come in administrative and headquarters jobs, consolidation of
office facilities, and the ongoing sale or closure of manufacturing plants,
including in the company's animal-health unit.
Merck spokesman David Caouette said 35% to 40% of the new work-force
reductions will be in the U.S., while Merck will continue to hire new
employees in "growth areas," including emerging markets such as China.
For the year, the company raised the lower end of its per-share earnings
forecast by two cents and now expects $3.68 to $3.76, while affirming its
revenue guidance. It also reduced the top end of its 2011 research and
development spending target by another $100 million and now expects $8
billion to $8.3 billion in R&D spending.
Merck also said it is discontinuing development of an experimental migraine
drug, telcagepant, after assessing the clinical data. Analysts once
predicted this drug could generate more than $1 billion in annual sales, but
those expectations began to diminish when Merck delayed its filing plans in
2009.
Like other drug makers, Merck has been forming collaborations and adding
licensing and marketing agreements to help blunt the effects of coming
patent expirations for top drugs. Merck faces the loss next year of patent
protection for asthma drug Singulair, its best-selling drug, which will
expose it to sales-eroding generic competition.
Merck already has seen generic competition for previous big sellers temper
its sales growth. As it strives to bolster its drug pipeline, Merck has
reduced its research-and-development spending plans less than the steep cuts
by rival Pfizer Inc.
For the second quarter, Merck reported a profit of $2.02 billion, or 65
cents a share, up from $752 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding the tax benefit and other items, per-share earnings rose to 95
cents from 86 cents. Revenue increased to $12.15 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 95 cents a share
on revenue of $11.78 billion.
Gross margin rose to 64.7% from 59.9%.
Pharmaceutical sales grew 7.4% to $10.36 billion. Remicade sales climbed 26%
, Singulair sales jumped 7.6% and Januvia increased 30%.
Merck recently won regulatory approval for a new hepatitis C drug, Victrelis
, and said the U.S. launch is under way.
The animal-health business, which includes products for farm animals and
pets, saw 10% revenue growth. Merck's consumer division, which includes over
-the-counter allergy medicine Claritin and Coppertone skin-care products,
posted a sales decline of 1%.
Merck shares closed Thursday at $34.93 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is down 3.1% this year.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190480030457647575
发信人: bleu (好奇杀死猫), 信区: Pharmaceutical
标 题: Merck to Cut Up to 13,000 Jobs
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Fri Jul 29 10:17:30 2011, 美东)
By PETER LOFTUS
Merck & Co. said Friday that it would widen its cost-cutting measures by
eliminating up to 13,000 jobs—on top of the 17,000 layoffs in prior actions
—as the drug maker faces generic competition and other pressures.
The Whitehouse Station, N.J., company disclosed the job cuts as it reported
a near-tripling of second-quarter earnings on a tax benefit and other items.
Revenue rose 7% on sales growth for diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet, as
well as anti-inflammatory drug Remicade.
The new round of layoffs, due to be completed by 2015, means that Merck will
have eliminated about 30% of the work force it had at the end of 2009, in
the wake of its acquisition of Schering-Plough. Some of the reductions have
been offset by new hiring, however.
Merck said the new layoffs would save the company an additional $1.3 billion
to $1.5 billion in annual costs, on top of the expected $3.5 billion in
annual savings it expects to achieve by the end of 2012 from previously
announced cost-cutting actions. Merck's work force as of June 30 was 91,000.
"The realities of our environment dictate the need to operate more flexibly
and nimbly from a lower cost base," Merck Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier
said on a conference call with analysts. He said the company would reinvest
some of the savings in new growth opportunities when appropriate.
The cuts will come in administrative and headquarters jobs, consolidation of
office facilities, and the ongoing sale or closure of manufacturing plants,
including in the company's animal-health unit.
Merck spokesman David Caouette said 35% to 40% of the new work-force
reductions will be in the U.S., while Merck will continue to hire new
employees in "growth areas," including emerging markets such as China.
For the year, the company raised the lower end of its per-share earnings
forecast by two cents and now expects $3.68 to $3.76, while affirming its
revenue guidance. It also reduced the top end of its 2011 research and
development spending target by another $100 million and now expects $8
billion to $8.3 billion in R&D spending.
Merck also said it is discontinuing development of an experimental migraine
drug, telcagepant, after assessing the clinical data. Analysts once
predicted this drug could generate more than $1 billion in annual sales, but
those expectations began to diminish when Merck delayed its filing plans in
2009.
Like other drug makers, Merck has been forming collaborations and adding
licensing and marketing agreements to help blunt the effects of coming
patent expirations for top drugs. Merck faces the loss next year of patent
protection for asthma drug Singulair, its best-selling drug, which will
expose it to sales-eroding generic competition.
Merck already has seen generic competition for previous big sellers temper
its sales growth. As it strives to bolster its drug pipeline, Merck has
reduced its research-and-development spending plans less than the steep cuts
by rival Pfizer Inc.
For the second quarter, Merck reported a profit of $2.02 billion, or 65
cents a share, up from $752 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding the tax benefit and other items, per-share earnings rose to 95
cents from 86 cents. Revenue increased to $12.15 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 95 cents a share
on revenue of $11.78 billion.
Gross margin rose to 64.7% from 59.9%.
Pharmaceutical sales grew 7.4% to $10.36 billion. Remicade sales climbed 26%
, Singulair sales jumped 7.6% and Januvia increased 30%.
Merck recently won regulatory approval for a new hepatitis C drug, Victrelis
, and said the U.S. launch is under way.
The animal-health business, which includes products for farm animals and
pets, saw 10% revenue growth. Merck's consumer division, which includes over
-the-counter allergy medicine Claritin and Coppertone skin-care products,
posted a sales decline of 1%.
Merck shares closed Thursday at $34.93 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is down 3.1% this year.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190480030457647575