Schering-Plough delivering on Action Agenda, with 4th-qtr profits up 62%

When Fred Hassan took over as chief executive of then beleaguered US drugmaker Schering-Plough he promised he would turn the company around, and set in place an Action Agenda in 2003 which is now clearly proving itself (Marketletters passim). "We set out then with a clear strategy to reposition Schering-Plough," said Mr Hassan, adding that "our goal was to shift to high value-creation activity across the company. We have executed on that strategy."

For the fourth quarter of 2006, the company posted a 75% increase in net income on a generally-accepted accounting principles basis to $182.0 million, or $0.12 a share, and net GAAP turnover that grew 14% to $2.7 billion, fuelled by sales of its arthritis drug Remicade (infliximab) and revenues from its joint-venture with Merck & Co for cholesterol-lowering drugs.