Schering-Plough 2nd-quarter profit jumps

Drug maker Schering-Plough, which is being bought by rival Merck & Co., said Tuesday its profit jumped 49 percent in the second quarter, as the company recorded lower one-time costs.

Schering-Plough Corp. earned $633 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with $424 million, or 26 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, its profit rose to 46 cents per share from 45 cents per share, beating analyst estimates by a penny per share.

Most of the one-time costs were related to Schering-Plough's buyout of Organon BioSciences in 2007.

The Kenilworth, N.J.-based company's sales fell 6 percent to $4.65 billion, partly due to a stronger dollar. Analysts expected revenue of $4.64 billion. Total prescription revenue slid 3 percent to $3.6 billion, and animal health revenue fell 17 percent to $677 million primarily due to the global economic slump.