Generating over
a billion dollars per quarter now in sales (or well over $4 billion a year), Kenilworth is surfing atop an amazing
cash flow tsunami, for the foreseeable future, from its immuno-oncology franchises. Truly amazing -- and this tidal wave of cash flow will afford Merck new flexibility -- to invest in its future. This is a luxury that many other branded pharma concerns no longer enjoy -- so it is a continuing competitive advantage.
Perhaps opportunistically timed, we did see a material charge, at
$2.35 billion -- mostly non-cash, near term -- in the restructuring for (i) the AZ collaboration, and (ii) in Puerto Rico, and (iii) to a much smaller degree, related to the "
NotPetya" cyber-attack (now being partially quantified). Here's a bit,
from Reuters:
. . . .Sales of Keytruda, which were helped by approval across various indications this year, were $1.05 billion for the third quarter, in line with Leerink consensus estimates.
Merck had a $2.35 billion charge related to its collaboration with AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L), which it had announced in the second quarter.
Excluding items, Merck earned $1.11 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.03. . . .
However, sales fell to $10.33 billion from $10.54 billion, hurt by the NotPetya cyber attack in the second quarter, which had disrupted its manufacturing operations. . . .
Merck was an early-riser,
at almost three per cent but now off about one per cent, in the NASDAQ pre-market. . . .
nope, no spooks in evidence there. Nicely done! And. . . ever onward --
after a moment of inexplicable and transitory weakness, at a local pay phone yesterday at 3:30 p.m., on the nose. My apologies for that. Truly.
नमस्ते
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