Merck: swings to loss on VelosBio acquisition

(CercleFinance.com) - US drugmaker Merck on Thursday said it swung to a loss in thz fourth quarter, reflecting its acquisition of biotech company VelosBio.


The company's net loss for the three months ending 31 December reached 2.1 billion dollars, or 0.83 dollar per share, compared with a profit of 2.3 billion dollars, or 0.92 dollar per share, a year before.

Excluding special items, such as the 2.7 billion dollar charge for the acquisition of VelosBio, profit rose 12% to over 3.3 billion dollars, Merck said.

Fourth-quarter revenue came in at 12.5 billion dollars, up 5% year-on-year, as sales were lifted by strong demand for its cancer drug Keytruda, whose sales jumped 28% to nearly 4 billion dollars.

The figures, however, fell short of analysts' expectations.

In another important change, Merck also announced on Thursday that chairman and chief executive officer Kenneth Frazier will retire as CEO in June, after 10 years in the job.

He will be replaced by Robert Davis, Merck's current chief financial officer.

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