Bristol-Myers Squibb has reported net sales of $5.34 billion for the second quarter of 2009, as compared to $5.2 billion during the previous year. This represented an increase of 3%. Net earnings from continuing operations saw a growth of 36% to $983 million from last years $722 million.
The company’s gross profit improved to 72.9% of net sales in the second quarter of 2009, compared to 67.9% in 2008. The growth is said to be driven by higher manufacturing rationalization charges in 2008, favorable foreign exchange impact, cost improvements, favorable product mix, and price increases.
James Cornelius, chairman and chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: “We are well on-track to continue delivering on our growth commitments. In the second quarter, we extended our collaboration with Otsuka on ABILIFY and, as a result, we expect that our outlook for 2013 is much improved. Our business performance and financial strength position us well to invest in further opportunities for long-term growth.
“Nowhere is that more evident than with our planned acquisition of Medarex. This is yet another example of how we are successfully executing on our String of Pearls strategy and building our future pipeline. We are expanding our biologics capabilities and gaining access to exciting new technology which may open new frontiers in cancer research. We believe the assets from Medarex can give us a competitive advantage in immunology and oncology, two areas of significant unmet medical need,” he added.