ANNUAL REPORT PROJECT: MERCK & CO., INC.
The subject company of this analysis is Merck & Co., Inc. Specific items of relevant information about this company are as follows:
Chief Executive Officer: Raymond V. Gilmartin
Home Office: Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
Ending Data Latest Fiscal Year: 31 December 2002
Principal Products: Pharmaceuticals & Ethical Drugs
Main Geographic Area of Activity: Global
The company's independent accountant as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year was PricewatershousCoopers LLP. The essence of the statement of the independent accounting firm was that (a) the company's financial statements presented a fair portrayal of the actual operations of the company over the past three years and (b) financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in this country.
The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The closing price of the stock on 9 December 2003 was $43.56. The latest dividend paid was $1.03 per share on 3 December 2003.
Merck & Co. participates in the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry is described by the United States government in the Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) manual as the Pharmaceutical Preparations Industry, SIC 2842. The industry group is 283, which is drugs. The industry is described as follows: "Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing, fabricating, or processing drugs in pharmaceutical preparations for human or veterinary use. The à products of these establishments are finished in the form intended for final consumption" (Standard Industrial Classifications, 2000, p. 2842)
Pharmaceuticals preparation is a $205 billion per year industry. The major players in the industry typically conduct operations in related industrial classifications, as well as in the pharmaceutical preparations industry (Rho, 199
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