Sales & Earnings In Brief

Merck consumer sales dip: Merck Consumer Care experienced a drop in first-quarter sales compared to a year ago, when, as a unit of Schering-Plough, it benefited from the launch of Claritin Liqui-Gels (1"The Tan Sheet" April 27, 2009). In the first three months of 2010, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck reported consumer sales of $379 million, down 1.3 percent. Claritin OTC sales sank 26.2 percent to $110 million in the quarter, Merck said May 4. The firm's overall quarterly results reflected effects and costs attributable to the Schering merger; net sales rose 112.1 percent to $11.42 billion, but net income dropped 77.3 percent to $330.2 million. Diluted earnings per share were off 86.6 percent to 9 cents. Merck said it expects in 2012 to begin realizing $3.5 billion in annual synergy savings