Tuesday Earnings: Health Care and Medicine - USA TODAY

Here is a brief summary of some of the earnings reports released Tuesday, July 30:

Aetna's acquisitions give profits a healthy boost: Health care provider Aetna says its second-quarter earnings jumped 17 percent and it raised its 2013 forecast, as the health insurer reaped revenue and enrollment gains from its acquisition of fellow insurer Coventry Health Care.

The Hartford, Conn., company says it earned $536 million, or $1.49 per share, in the three months that ended June 30. That's up from $457.6 million, or $1.32 per share, in last year's second quarter.

Analysts forecast earnings of $1.40 per share on about $11.9 billion in revenue.

Aetna now expects 2013 adjusted earnings of between $5.80 and $5.90 per share, up from its previous projection of $5.70 to $5.85 per share.

Pfizer's losses softened by animal health business: Pfizer's second-quarter net income more than quadrupled, helped by the sale of its animal health business. The world's second-largest drugmaker beat Wall Street's earnings expectations, though revenue continued to decline as patents expire on drugs that had once been blockbusters for the company.

The biggest impact for Pfizer has been on its cholesterol fighter Lipitor, which was the world's best-selling drug for nearly a decade until it lost exclusivity in the U.S. in 2011 and in much of Europe last year. Revenue from Lipitor, which once brought in about $13 billion a year, dropped 55 percent to $484 million in the second quarter.

Revenue fell 7 percent to $12.97 billion from $14 billion partly due to generic competition and the loss of exclusivity on Lipitor in Europe. That's just short of the $13.21 billion analysts were expecting.

The New York company maintained its full-year adjusted earnings outlook of $2.10 to $2.20 per share. Analysts forecast $2.16 per share.

Merck & Co.'s expired patents drag down profits: Drugmaker Merck & Co. says its second-quarter profit fell by half because of generic competition cutting into sales and acquisition and other charges.

The maker of blockbuster diabetes pill Januvia and Gardasil, a vaccine against sexually transmitted cancers, says second-quarter net income was $906 million, or 30 cents per share, down from $1.79 billion, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier.

The world's third-largest drug maker backed its previous 2013 profit forecast for earnings per share of $1.84 to $2.05, excluding one-time items.

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