Merck 2025 sales forecast underwhelms as it pauses Gardasil sales in China

New York, Feb 4 (AP) Shares of Merck slid Tuesday in early trading after the drugmaker surprised Wall Street with a lower-than-expected 2025 sales forecast due partly to a pause in shipments of one of its top-selling products to China.

The drugmaker plans to temporarily pause shipments of its Gardasil vaccine to China through at least the middle of the year.

Merck gave no explanation in its fourth-quarter earnings report for the pause, but sales of Gardasil fell 17 per cent to USD 1.55 billion in the final quarter of last year, mainly due to a continued trend of lower demand in China.

Gardasil vaccine protects against cancer-causing human papilloma virus or HPV infections. The pause announcement comes a month after Merck received approval in China for use of the vaccine in males.

For 2025 Merck, based in , Rahway, New Jersey, expects adjusted earnings to range between USD 8.88 and USD 9.03 per share on USD 64.1 billion to USD 65.6 billion in sales.

Analysts had been projecting earnings of USD 9.13 per share on USD 67.07 billion in sales, according to FactSet.

For the recently completed fourth quarter, Merck booked an adjusted profit of USD 1.72 per share on USD 15.6 billion in revenue. Sales of top-selling cancer treatment Keytruda climbed 19 per cent to USD 7.84 billion.

Analysts expected earnings of USD 1.61 per share on USD 15.48 billion in revenue.

Shares of Merck & Co Inc dropped 8 per cent, or USD 8.18, to USD 91.61 Tuesday in premarket trading. (AP) NPK NPK

Source: PTI