Pfizer Inc. (PFE) has reported a 2.73 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2017. The company has earned $3,121 million, or $0.51 a share in the quarter, compared with $3,038 million, or $0.49 a share for the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, net profit for the quarter was almost stable at $4,192 million, or $0.69 a share, when compared with the last year period.

Revenue during the quarter went down marginally by 1.74 percent to $12,779 million from $13,005 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 259 basis points over the previous year period to 80.67 percent. Total expenses were 69.09 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 70.08 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 99 basis points in operating margin to 30.91 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $3,950 million, compared with $3,891 million in the previous year period.

Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "I was pleased with our first-quarter 2017 financial performance, which was in line with our expectations, and it reinforces our confidence in the business going forward. I believe each of our businesses is well positioned within their individual markets with strong portfolios, highly skilled and accomplished leadership and focused strategies. Essential Health's growth opportunities - Sterile Injectables, Biosimilars and Emerging Markets - continue to perform in line with our expectations while we refine the business and position it for potential sustainable revenue growth. "Finally, we will continue to allocate our capital to initiatives that we believe will maximize value creation," Mr. Read concluded.

For fiscal year 2017, Pfizer Inc. forecasts revenue to be in the range of $52,000 million to $54,000 million. The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.50 to $2.60 on adjusted basis.