Earnings Preview: Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals

Schering-Plough (SGP) is expected to report Q1 earnings before market open Wednesday, April 23, with a conference call scheduled for 8:00 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of 37c on revenue of $4.51B. The consensus range is 29c to 45c for EPS, and revenue of $4.16B to $4.80B, according to First Call.

Analyst Views

The Vytorin controversy that has plagued Merck (MRK) and Schering-Plough might have a more pronounced effect on Schering, since the drug giant derives more than one-third of its pre-tax profits from Vytorin. Industry analysts do like the Organon Bio-Sciences acquisition that Schering made last year. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to the company's EPS by about 10c in the first full year.

On April 4, UBS put out a positive research note on Schering after seeing prescription data for Vytorin and Zetia that was not as bad as feared.