Merck Clocked $950M Sales In Q4 From COVID-19 Treatment, Issues FY22 Sales

Merck & Co Inc's MRK Q4 sales reached $13.52 billion, +24% Y/Y, beating the consensus of $13.16 billion. 

• Excluding the foreign exchange impact, revenues were up 23%.
• Pharmaceutical sales increased 23% to $12 billion, reflecting sales of molnupiravir and growth in oncology, vaccines, and hospital acute care products. 
• COVID-19 treatment drug Molnupiravir sales were $952 million, primarily consisting of sales in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan.
• Related: Merck's COVID-19 Pill works Against Omicron, Lab Studies Show.
• Keytruda sales grew 15% to $4.6 billion. Vaccine sales rebounded, and Gardasil/ Gardasil 9 sales were up 53% to $1.5 billion, primarily driven by strong global demand, particularly in China.
• Vaccine performance was negatively affected by lower sales of PNEUMOVAX 23 pneumococcal vaccine, which declined 14% to $292 million on lower demand in the U.S., reflecting prioritization of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Adjusted EPS of $1.80 also surpassed the analysts' estimate of $1.53 and up from $0.98 posted a year ago.
• 2022 Guidance: Merck expects FY22 sales of $56.1 billion - $57.6 billion, compared to the consensus of $56.64 billion.
• It expects an adjusted EPS of $7.12 and $7.27 (consensus $7.29).
• Price Action: MRK shares are down 0.33% at $81.74 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.