Wyeth's 1st-qtr income up 12% to $1.25B

First quarter 2007 profits were up 12% to $1.25 billion for US drugmaker Wyeth, equivalent to diluted earnings per share of $0.95. This improvement was ahead of the consensus estimate of a Thompson Finanacial analyst survey, which forecast EPS of $0.87.

$5.37 B revenue beats analysts' forecast

Wyeth said that higher sales, which grew 11% to $5.37 billion ahead of predictions, and better interest income had been the key performance drivers in the quarter. The company's Prevnar vaccine, indicated for the prevention of meningitis and blood infections, made the largest revenue gains, climbing 43% to $617.0 million. The group explained that Prevnar's growth had been stimulated by several factors, including its adoption by national immunization programs in Germany, Mexico and the UK, as well as the 16% improvement in US compliance rates and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's addition of 250,000 doses to its vaccine stockpile.