Merck Warns First-Quarter Earnings Below Estimates
Mercksaid Tuesday first-quarter earnings would fall below Wall Street's estimates, however, it still expects to reach its earnings forecast for the full year.
Merck said it expects first-quarter earnings to be between 95 cents and 98 cents a share on an adjusted basis. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the pharmaceutical company to earn $1.01 a share in the first quarter.
Merck said sales in the latest period were reduced between 1 percent and 2 percent due to currency translation.
For the rest of the year, currency is expected to trim between 2 percent and 3 percent from its sales.
Despite this headwind, Merck expects net income this year to be between $2.04 and $2.03 a share, or $3.75 and $3.85 a share, on an adjusted basis.
Before the market's open, Merck shares, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, were trading lower.
Get real-time quotes for Merck here.
