UPDATE: Merck Swings To Q4 Profit

Merck & Co

swung to a fourth-quarter profit. Merck posted a quarterly profit of $1.51 billion, or $0.49 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $531 million, or $0.17 per share. Excluding special items, Merck's earnings came in at $0.97 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.95 per share. Its sales climbed 2% to $12.29 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $12.5 billion. Merck shares fell 1.32% to $38.12 at 12:02 pm.