Upjohn, Pfizer Post Gains; American Cyanamid Falls

Two leading drug companies, Upjohn Co. and Pfizer Inc., reported double-digit profit increases for the third quarter, while a third drug company, American Cyanamid, reported a 32% profit decline.

Upjohn, a Kalamazoo, Mich.-based pharmaceutical maker, reported that its net earnings rose 75% to $46.9 million on sales of $474.7 million in the three months ended Sept. 30.

In the same period last year, Upjohn reported a profit of $26.8 million on sales of $435.3 million.

Upjohn’s sharp earnings increase reflected the $257-million sale of its polymer chemical business to Dow Chemical Co., said R. T. Parfet Jr., Upjohn chairman and chief executive.

Pfizer, which is based in New York and makes hospital and consumer products, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, reported that its net earnings rose 16.1% to $155.5 million from $133.9 million a year ago.

Revenue rose to $1.01 billion from $988.4 million for the third quarter of 1984.

The company said its strongest segments in the third quarter were its worldwide hospital product sales, which increased 9%, and consumer products, such as Coty cosmetics and Visine eye drops, which had a 7% sales increase.

American Cyanamid, which is based in Wayne, N.J., reported that third-quarter earnings fell to $34.8 million from $51.2 million a year earlier. Revenue slipped to $852.3 million from $864.5 million.