Bristol-Myers Squibb posts 8 percent profit jump

The New York-based maker of blood thinner Plavix and Enfamil infant formula said it plans to make an additional $1 billion in cost cuts by 2012--on top of the $1.5 billion productivity program announced last December. The earlier restructuring is intended to cut about 10 percent of company jobs; details on the newest one are to be announced by year's end, but savings are expected to come mainly from more job cuts, procurement savings and streamlining operations by eliminating noncore businesses.

Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers reported net income of $764 million, or 38 cents per share, up from $706 million, or 36 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007.

Excluding income from a business being sold and a host of one-time charges for plant shutdowns, productivity improvements, an acquisition and other items, the company had income of $903 million, or 43 cents per share.

Revenue totaled $5.2 billion, up 16 percent from $4.47 billion in the year-ago period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, expected earnings per share of 40 cents and revenue of $5.09 billion. They typically exclude one-time items.

Bristol-Myers, the world's No. 14 pharmaceutical company by sales, reaffirmed its 2008 earnings forecast of $1.36 to $1.46 per share, including one-time items.

"It was a great quarter, probably the best since I've been here," Chief Executive Officer James Cornelius, who took over in September 2006, told analysts during a conference call.

He said the company will strategically cut spending ahead of patent expiration starting in 2012, is honing in on possible acquisitions and alliances in disease clusters where it focuses research, and has sharply boosted ad spending for key products, particularly in this country, and will do so for the rest of the year.

"I believe we're well on our way to being a next-generation 'biopharma' company," Cornelius said.