Feb 3 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc reported fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday that topped Wall Street expectations as continued demand for older drugs such as blood thinner Eliquis helped offset falling sales of its coronavirus products.
The upbeat results come as Pfizer grapples with declining demand for its COVID-19 products and faces expiring patents on several of its older drugs, which will allow cheaper generic versions to enter the market.
Pfizer has warned it expects challenges in the coming years and said it doesn’t expect to return to revenue growth until 2029. The company is working to develop new blockbuster drugs, including an obesity drug acquired through recent deals, to help fuel the recovery.
Strong demand for its heart and oncology drugs helped total sales of $17.56 billion in the quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $16.95 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported profit of 66 cents per share, compared with analysts’ estimates of 57 cents per share.
(Reporting by Sneha SK in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
