Merck 4th Quarter 2008 Earnings Beats The Street

Merck Announces Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2008 Financial Results

>Company Announces Fourth-Quarter 2008 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.87, Excluding 9 Cents of Restructuring Charges; Fourth-Quarter GAAP EPS of $0.78
>Merck Reports Full-Year 2008 Non-GAAP EPS of $3.42, Excluding Certain Items; Full-Year GAAP EPS of $3.64
>Strong Performance of Newer Products, JANUVIA, JANUMET, ROTATEQ and ISENTRESS, Continued During 2008
>Merck Reaffirms Full-Year 2009 Non-GAAP EPS Range of $3.15 to $3.30, Excluding Certain Items; Reaffirms 2009 GAAP EPS Range of $2.95 to $3.17

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Feb. 3, 2009 - Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the fourth-quarter and full-year of 2008.
The Company reported fourth-quarter 2008 non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, which excludes restructuring charges of $0.09. Fourth-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.78. Merck also announced full-year 2008 non-GAAP EPS of $3.42, excluding certain items, and full-year GAAP EPS of $3.64.

For the fourth quarter of 2008, worldwide sales were $6.0 billion, a decrease of 3 percent over the fourth quarter of 2007. Worldwide sales were $23.9 billion for full-year 2008, a decrease of 1 percent over full year 2007. Foreign exchange provided an unfavorable effect to global sales performance of 1 percent for the quarter and a favorable effect of 3 percent for the year.
Net income for the fourth quarter was $1,644.8 million, compared with a net loss of $1,630.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. Merck reported $7,808.4 million in net income for full-year 2008, compared with $3,275.4 million in the full year of 2007. Fourth-quarter 2007 net loss and full-year 2007 net income reflect a $4.85 billion pretax charge related to the U.S. VIOXX Settlement Agreement. Full-year 2008 net income includes a $2.2 billion pretax gain on a distribution from AstraZeneca LP.