Pfizer's fourth-quarter profits soared to $US12.27 billion ($A17.18 billion) thanks to a huge tax benefit related to the US tax system overhaul.
The biggest US drugmaker on Tuesday reported an $11.34 billion benefit, mainly from recalculating deferred tax liabilities. Pfizer also said it will take a charge of approximately $15 billion, payable to the Treasury over eight years, to cover taxes on profits held overseas that it plans to bring back to the US.
The New York company said those figures may need to be adjusted and did not disclose how much money it will "repatriate."
But it issued a forecast for adjusted 2018 earnings in the range of $2.90 to $3 per share, higher than in the past couple years, with revenue in the range of $53.5 billion to $55.5 billion.
The maker of Viagra and pain medicine Lyrica said its net income for the fourth quarter amounted to $2.02. A year earlier, Pfizer posted net income of $775 million, or 13 cents per share.
Adjusted for non-recurring gains and discontinued operations, Pfizer's fourth-quarter earnings amounted to $3.77 billion, or 62 cents per share. That's six cents better than analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research had projected.
Pfizer posted revenue of $13.7 billion in the period, up one per cent from a year ago and also surpassing Wall Street expectations of $13.61 billion.
Sales growth was led by Lyrica, the Prevnar 13 pneumococcal vaccine and several newer medicines, including clot-preventer Eliquis, breast cancer drug Ibrance and rheumatoid arthritis pill Xeljanz.
In pre-market trading on Tuesday, shares of Pfizer Inc. fell 62 cents, or 1.6 per cent at $38.40.
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