“With six regulatory filings involving four new pharmaceutical products completed during the year, combined with continued investments in R&D, Wyeth is positioned for strong growth in 2007 and beyond,” says Wyeth’s ceo, Bob Essner.

Fourth-quarter earnings rose 17 percent to $855.4 million, or 63 cents, from $731.7 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier, thanks to sales of its Effexor antidepressant Effexor and Prevnar childhood vaccine. Results included charges of 3 cents for restructuring.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect fourth-quarter profit of 71 cents.

“The miss, at least relative to our forecast, is the result of higher than expected spending in SG&A and R&D and lower gross margins,” wrote Prudential Equity analyst Tim Anderson in a research note this morning.

Meanwhile, the drugmaker said it expects adjusted earnings per share to rise about 8 percent to 12 percent in 2007, or $3.40 to $3.50, compared with adjusted profit of $3.14 last year. Wall Street is looking for $3.49. And Wyeth also said it expects revenue to grow by a mid-to-high single digit percentage in 2007. Last year, revenue hit $20.4 billion.
[tags]Wyeth[/tags]