UPDATE: Bristol-Myers Posts Higher Q1 Profit

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co

reported a 54% surge in its first-quarter profit. Bristol-Myers' quarterly net income climbed to $937 million, or $0.56 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $609 million, or $0.37 per share. Excluding certain items, Bristol earned $0.46 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.43 per share. Its revenue fell 1% to $3.81 billion. Bristol-Myers' US revenue slipped 10% to $1.8 billion while international revenue rose 10% to $2.0 billion. Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb said, “In the first quarter, we again delivered strong financial results, demonstrating the strength of our core brands and our focus on operational execution.” Bristol-Myers now expects 2014 profit of $1.70 to $1.80 per share, versus its earlier guidance of $1.75 to $1.90 per share. The executive added, “We continue to build a foundation for long-term success by investing across our portfolio, developing our innovative pipeline and advancing our evolution to a diversified specialty care BioPharma leader.” Bristol-Myers Squibb also reported that it has acquired iPierian for $175 million in an all cash transaction. Bristol-Myers shares fell 0.22% to $50.25 in pre-market trading.