Merck (MRK)

Merck & Co.'s (MRK) third-quarter profit more than tripled on a gain from the sale of the drug maker's stake in an animal-health joint venture, while a continued rebound in a blockbuster asthma drug helped overall sales inch higher.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, Merck reported net income of $3.4 billion, or $1.61 a share, up from $1.09 billion, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest quarter included a gain of $1.7 billion from Merck's sale of its 50% interest in the Merial animal-health joint venture to Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY), which already owned the other half.

Oct 22 · 9:24:00 AM · Source: Wall Street Journal
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by Larry Etter