P.M. BRIEFING : SmithKline Earnings Rise 48%

SmithKline Beecham said today that its second-quarter earnings rose 48%, to $303 million from $205 million, while ordinary share earnings were up 3%, to 16.2 cents from 15.8 cents, from the year-earlier period.

The company became the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical concern last year when Britain’s Beecham Group PLC merged with SmithKline Beckman Corp. in a stock swap transaction valued at $8.3 billion. It said second-quarter sales were up 9%, to $1.97 billion from $1.81 billion a year earlier.

For the first six months, the company said, its profits amounted to $694 million, up 94% from $358 million a year earlier, while ordinary share earnings increased 26%, to 35 cents from 27.8 cents.

First-half sales rose 14%, to $3.99 billion from $3.5 billion.