By Rob Curran

Zoetis's fourth-quarter net income rose 14% as the animal-health company benefited from a continued boom in pet care and a robust U.S. farming economy.

The Parsipanny, N.J.-based veterinary drug maker posted fourth-quarter earnings of $525 million, or $1.14 a share, up from $461 million, or 99 cents a share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Zoetis logged earnings of $569 million, or $1.24 a share, edging out the average Wall Street target of $1.23 a share, as tallied by FactSet.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 8.5% to $2.2 billion, slightly surpassing the mean analyst estimate of $2.19 billion, as per FactSet. U.S. sales rose 9% to $1.2 billion on widespread increases of demand for both pet and livestock medicines. International sales rose 9% to $982 million, as weak demand for pig medicine in China and sheep product in Australia and New Zealand offset strength elsewhere.

Zoetis, which was spun off by drug giant Pfizer in 2013, projected 2024 earnings in a range between $2.47 billion and $2.51 billion, or between $5.34 and $5.44 a share. Zoetis forecast adjusted earnings between $2.65 billion and $2.7 billion, or between $5.74 and $5.84 a share.

Zoetis targeted 2024 revenue in a range between $9.075 billion and $9.225 billion, up from $8.54 billion for 2023.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-13-24 0736ET