(Bloomberg) -- Drugmaker Merck & Co. raised its annual forecast as it reported quarterly profit and revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations.

• Adjusted earnings for the year will be $5.65 to $5.70 a share, up from the earlier guidance of $5.47 to $5.57. Revenue will be $47.4 billion to $47.9 billion, compared with the earlier guidance that topped out at $47.4 billion.
• Quarterly adjusted earnings were $1.75 a share, beating analysts’ average estimate by 20 cents. Revenue was $13.2 billion, compared with Wall Street expectations of $12.3 billion.

Key Insights

• Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP are seeking U.S. authorization of molnupiravir, their Covid antiviral. Merck said it plans to make at least 20 million treatment courses of the drug next year, on top of 10 million it expects to make by the end of 2021.
• Merck said vaccine sales contributed to third-quarter results. However, sales of its pneumococcal vaccine, Pneumovax 23, declined nearly 30%, “primarily driven by lower demand in the United States reflecting prioritization of the Covid-19 vaccine.”
• Sales of the papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil were $1.99 billion, topping estimates. Sales of blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and the diabetes medications Januvia and Janumet also beat Wall Street projections. Animal health sales were $1.42 billion, in line with expectations.

Market Reaction

• Merck shares rose 0.9% in U.S. premarket trading. They had climbed 4.5% this year through Wednesday’s close.

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• Read the release.

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