Wyeth Outlook Bolsters Shares

Updated from June 27

Shares of Wyeth (WYE) were climbing 4% a day after the pharmaceutical company raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year.

On Monday the company increased its fiscal-year earnings estimate to a range of $2.80 to $2.90 a share, thanks in part to lower-than-expected growth in certain expenses and "favorable tax developments."

Wyeth's shares were gaining $1.77 to $44.77.

The company had telegraphed higher-than-expected full-year EPS in April when it said it would probably beat its previous guidance of $2.70 to $2.80. At the time, analysts polled by Thomson First Call were predicting an EPS of $2.78. Most recently, the consensus prediction was $2.82.

Wyeth said the predictions exclude "any potential one-time impact, if any, from the repatriation of permanently reinvested earnings from foreign subsidiaries" under a law signed by President Bush last year. The law provides companies with a chance to repatriate these profits for domestic use at a sharply reduced tax rate.

Wyeth also said Monday that its new forecast excludes any potential restructuring charges "resulting from the Company's ongoing review of business processes and systems."

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