US drugmaker Pfizer, which is in the process of buying Botox-maker Allergan for $160 billion, forecast 2016 revenue and earnings below analysts' estimates, citing generic competition and a strong dollar. The company said it expects reported revenue of $49 billion-$51 billion for the full year and adjusted earnings of $2.20-$2.30 per share.

The company agreed to buy Allergan last year in a deal that will slash its tax rate. The deal, which will shift Pfizer’s headquarters to Dublin, is slated to close in the second half of 2016.

Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $52.49 billion and earnings of $2.36 per share. The company’s shares were down 1.6 percent at $29.70 in premarket trading on Tuesday. They had fallen 7 per cent this year until Monday. However, Pfizer reported better-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter, helped by demand for its pneumonia vaccine and its Hospira acquisition. Revenue rose 7 per cent to $14.05 billion in the fourth quarter, ahead of the average analyst estimate of $13.56 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Global Vaccines revenue rose 45 per cent to $1.92 billion, driven by a 102 per cent growth in its pneumonia vaccine, Prevnar 13, in the United States.

Pfizer bought Hospira Inc for about $15 billion last year to boost its portfolio of generic injectable drugs and copies of biotech medicines. The deal closed on Sept. 3. Net income fell to $613 million, or 10 cents per share in the quarter, from $1.23 billion, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 53 cents per share, above analysts’ average estimate of 52 cents.

Reuters