Budget cuts boost Boston Scientific

Hasbro Inc., which makes the board game Monopoly, saw sales rise in the first quarter. Excluding the impact of the falling US dollar, Hasbro's sales were up 9 percent. (FRANK FRANKLIN II/ASSOCIATED PRESS/FILE 2008)

Boston Scientific Corp. said its first-quarter profit more than doubled as the medical device maker cut expenses to offset declining sales of drug-coated stents.

The Natick company said after markets closed that it earned $322 million, or 21 cents per share, in the January-through-March period. That compares with a profit of $120 million, or 8 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Net sales were down slightly to $2.05 billion from $2.09 billion a year earlier. Sales of Boston Scientific's drug-coated heart stents fell nearly 9 percent to $428 million from $468 million a year earlier.

The company says it boosted earnings in part by managing expenses through sales of some of its businesses last year. (AP)

Hasbro Inc., the world's second-largest toymaker, posted an unexpected increase in first-quarter profit on sales of Transformers action figures and Littlest Pet Shop dolls.

Hasbro gained the most since 2001 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Net income jumped 14 percent to $37.5 million, or 25 cents a share, Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro said. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey estimated profit of 14 cents. Revenue rose 13 percent to $704.2 million, the maker of Monopoly said. Excluding the impact of the falling US dollar, sales increased 9 percent.

Hasbro said it expects sales and earnings per share to rise this year as it sells toys based on characters licensed from upcoming superhero and Indiana Jones movies as well as its own brands. Profit exceeded the estimates of all analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and contrasts with Mattel Inc.'s first loss in almost three years.

"They saw broad strengths across all product lines," said Tim Conder, an analyst at Wachovia Securities Inc. in St. Louis who recommends buying the shares. "It's not only the movies they license but the other things as well. They've just managed their whole portfolio really well."

Seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted average sales of $581 million. Earnings per share a year earlier were $32.9 million, or 19 cents. (Bloomberg)

Eli Lilly & Co.'s first-quarter earnings missed analysts' estimates because of flagging sales of Zyprexa, the world's top schizophrenia drug last year, and higher costs for stopping work on inhaled insulin.

Eli Lilly reported adjusted earnings of 92 cents a share, 4 cents short of the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey, triggering Lilly's biggest decline in almost six months.

Revenue from Zyprexa increased only because of converting sales outside the United States into a weakened dollar. Sales of the antidepressant Cymbalta and the impotence drug Cialis are supposed to help make up for Zyprexa, whose patent expires in 2011. Even though revenue from all products rose 14 percent to $4.81 billion, that figure also missed analysts' estimates.

"We're in a bear market, which amplifies negative news, and the investment community has thrown up their hands with respect to pharmaceuticals," Charles Anthony Butler, an analyst for Lehman Brothers, said.

Lilly, based in Indianapolis, also reported a charge of $145.7 million, or 9 cents a share, for halting development of its AIR insulin inhaler, at least $25.7 million more than it estimated when it abandoned the drug last month. (Bloomberg)

Gannett Co., the largest US newspaper publisher, said first-quarter profit fell 8.9 percent as the drop in classified advertising sales deepened and television revenue declined.

Net income fell to $191.8 million, or 84 cents a share, from $210.6 million, or 90 cents, a year earlier, McLean, Va.-based Gannett said. Sales dropped 8.4 percent to $1.68 billion.

Classified ad sales tumbled 18 percent in March, a steeper decline than in January and February. Chief executive Craig Dubow said on a conference call that the economy deteriorated more in the second half of last month, and that newspapers in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona faced a challenging real-estate market. (Bloomberg)

Merck & Co., the third-largest US drug maker, said profit almost doubled on a $2.2 billion payment from AstraZeneca PLC and sales of its newest products, the diabetes pill Januvia and the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil.

First-quarter net income rose to $3.3 billion, or $1.52 a share, in the first quarter from $1.7 billion, or 78 cents, a year earlier, Merck said. Excluding some costs, Merck beat analysts' estimates by 4 cents.

Revenue rose about 1 percent to $5.8 billion, as sales of Januvia and Gardasil helped offset a 37 percent drop in sales of osteoporosis drug Fosamax because of generic competition. Though price increases boosted revenue from the cholesterol pills Vytorin and Zetia, the company projected sales of the drugs would fall by as much as $700 million this year.

Excluding certain one-time items, Merck earned 89 cents a share, beating the 85-cent estimate by 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)