Merck & Co income still up despite low sales

USA-based drug major Merck & Co's drive to cut costs during the second quarter of 2008 allowed it a small increase in income while sales were slightly lower.

The company posted revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, down 1% on the second quarter of 2007. Despite this, net income was up 5% to $1.77 billion, or $0.82 per share.

This was mainly attributed to restructuring costs from the firm's bid to reduce expenses, primarily employee seperations costs. Excluding these, the firm reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.86 per share, beating the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Financial who predicted $0.83 per share.