Pfizer's net jumps on sale of nutrition business

NEW YORK Pfizer Inc. (PFE) says its fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled, despite competition from generic drugs hurting sales, because of a $4.8 billion gain from selling its nutrition business.

The world's biggest drugmaker says its net income was $6.32 billion, or 85 cents per share, up from $1.44 billion, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the Viagra maker would have had a profit of $3.51 billion, or 47 cents per share -- 3 cents more than analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.

Revenue fell 7 percent to $15.1 billion, mainly due to generic competition to cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor. Analysts expected $14.35 billion.

The New York-based company's stock rose 11 cents to $26.95 in premarket trading.