Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s (BMY – Analyst Report) reported third-quarter 2015 earnings (excluding special items) of 39 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents but were down 13% year over year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company – Earnings Surprise | FindTheBest

Total revenue of $4.1 billion was ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.8 billion. Revenues were also up 4% year over year. Strong product sales boosted the top line in the reported quarter.

Third Quarter in Detail

The company performed well in both the U.S. and international markets. International revenues were up 4%. Foreign exchange translations impacted revenues negatively. Excluding the impact of currency translations, international revenues were up 19%. Sales in the U.S. markets increased 4% to $2 billion.

Leukemia drug, Sprycel, registered sales of $411 million, up 7%. Sales of another oncology drug, Erbitux, fell 11% during the quarter to $167 million. Skin cancer drug, Yervoy, contributed $240 million to the total revenue during the reported quarter, down 31%.

Opdivo, approved for multiple oncology indications (including melanoma and lung cancer), generated revenues of $305 million, significantly higher than $122 million in the second quarter of 2015.

The performance of key drugs in the virology unit was disappointing. Sales of Baraclude declined 2% to $320 million. Sales of the drug are expected to decline further due to generic competition. Sales of HIV treatments, Reyataz and Sustiva, also dropped 20% and 7% to $270 million and $333 million, respectively.

Sales of Eliquis were $466 million during the reported quarter, up approximately 6.6% sequentially. Bristol-Myers has a partnership with Pfizer (PFE – Analyst Report) for Eliquis. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) franchise at Bristol-Myers contributed $402 million to the company’s top line in the reported quarter, down 16% sequentially.

Adjusted marketing, selling and administrative expenses in the reported quarter were $981 million, 5.4% above the year-ago figure. Adjusted research and development expenses for the quarter increased 11.4% to $1 billion.

2015 Earnings Outlook

The company updated its 2015 earnings guidance. Bristol-Myers now expects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $1.85 to $1.90 compared to the previous guidance of $1.70 to $1.80 per share. The pre-earnings Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.82 is slightly below the guided range.