Trio of Drug Firms Gain; Warner-Lambert Off 18%

Higher drug and consumer products sales led to double-digit first-quarter earnings gains at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., American Home Products and SmithKline Beecham. Warner-Lambert Co. said its profit fell 18%.

In reports released Tuesday, Bristol-Myers’ earnings rose 12%, led by strong sales of its cholesterol-lowering drug Pravachol. American Home’s profit gained 18%, as it benefited from the introductions of the weight-loss drug Redux and the arthritis treatment Naprelan.

SmithKline Beecham’s earnings, up 14%, were driven by strong sales from a new antidepressant drug and nicotine-addiction remedies.

Left out of the industry’s generally strong earnings growth, Warner-Lambert had weak sales in its consumer businesses and unfavorable foreign exchange rates.

Bristol-Myers earned $810 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with $726 million, or 72 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected earnings of about 80 cents a share. Bristol-Myers Squibb stock rose $3.625 to close at $63.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sales totaled $4.05 billion, compared with $3.67 billion a year earlier.

Madison, N.J.-based American Home Products earned $576.7 million, or 90 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with $489.4 million, or 78 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1% to $3.6 billion from $3.65 billion.

The company said the revenue decline reflected the sale of its American Home Foods Business and Symbiosis surgical products business.

The results were slightly above analysts’ expectations. American Home stock rose $2.25 to close at $63.625 on the NYSE.

SmithKline Beecham, a British pharmaceutical company with U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia, earned $453 million, or 83 cents per American depository receipt, up from $398 million, or 73 cents per ADR, for the same period in 1996.

Sales were $3 billion, up from $2.9 billion.

The results were in line with analysts’ expectations. SmithKline stock rose $2.25 to close at $76.125 on the NYSE.

Morris Plains, N.J.-based Warner-Lambert earned $204 million, or 75 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with $249.5 million, or 92 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales fell 2.7% to $1.78 billion, from $1.83 billion in the same quarter last year.

The results were at the low end of analysts’ expectations. Warner-Lambert stock rose 50 cents to close at $98.625 on the NYSE.