Pfizer sales take a hit during pandemic

Still, the biggest US drugmaker by revenue posted a solid profit and nudged up parts of its 2020 financial forecast and reaffirmed the rest. The New York company reported net income of $3.43 billion, or 61 cents per share, down from $5.55 billion, or 89 cents, a year earlier.

Pfizer reported a 32% plunge in second-quarter profit, mainly due to the global coronavirus pandemic limiting marketing of and new prescriptions for its medicines. Pfizer had predicted in April that the virus would keep both patients and company sales representatives away from doctors and hospitals. Still, the biggest US drugmaker by revenue posted a solid profit and nudged up parts of its 2020 financial forecast and reaffirmed the rest.

The New York company reported net income of $3.43 billion, or 61 cents per share, down from $5.55 billion, or 89 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 11% to $11.8 billion, down from $13.26 billion in 2019's second quarter. Adjusted income came to $4.4 billion, or 78 cents per share.

Pfizer raised its 2020 earnings-per-share forecast by 3 cents, to $2.85 to $2.95, and tweaked its full-year sales forecast, to a range of $48.6 billion to $50.6 billion, from its April forecast of $48.5 billion to $50.5 billion.