Merck beats Street 3Q forecasts, hikes 2016 profit forecast

Higher sales of vaccines and prescription medicines for cancer and other diseases helped Merck & Co. post a 20 percent jump in third-quarter profit, easily beating Wall Street expectations.

Merck, which also benefited from reduced spending on production, marketing and administration, raised its financial forecasts for 2016.

The maker of Januvia diabetes pills on Tuesday reported net income of $2.18 billion, or 78 cents per share. That was up from $1.83 billion, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.

The Kenilworth, New Jersey-based company said earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.07 per share. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 98 cents per share.

The second-biggest U.S. drugmaker reported revenue of $10.54 billion in the period, up 5 percent from 2015's third quarter. That beat Street forecasts for $10.24 billion.

Sales of prescription drugs rose 6 percent to $9.44 billion, led by higher sales for injected cancer drug Keytruda, cholesterol pill Zetia, drugs used in hospitals and Gardasil and other vaccines.

Sales of veterinary medicines rose 5 percent to $865 million, driven by the Bravecto line of flea and tick products, other pet medicines and poultry medicines.

Merck said it now expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.02 to $2.09, up from its July forecast of $1.98 to $2.08. The company anticipates revenue in the range of $39.7 billion to $40.2 billion, up from its prior forecast of $39.1 billion to $40.1 billion.

In premarket trading, Merck shares jumped $1, or 1.7 percent, to $61.75.

Merck shares have risen 15 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen slightly more than 5 percent. The stock has increased 17 percent in the last 12 months.

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