This morning, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) reported third quarter earnings of 52 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The company reported earnings of 45 cents in the year-ago period.

Net sales for the quarter came in at $5,487 million, against $5,254 million in the year-ago quarter, thus representing an increase of 4.4%. It comprised $4,788 million in pharmaceutical product sales, up 6%, and $699 million in Nutritional sales, down 6%.

Growth in the pharmaceutical division was driven by strong sales of Plavix at $1,554 million, up 8%, HIV medication Sustiva at $315 million, up 7% and hepatitis B drug Baraclude at $191 million, up 33%, Schizophrenia drug Abilify came in at $653 million, up 16%, rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia was at $162 million, up 36% and leukemia drug Sprycel reached $107 million, up 30%.

However, cancer drug Erbitux generated sales of $179 million in the second quarter, a decrease of 3%. Furthermore, Onglyza, co-developed with AstraZeneca plc (AZN), was recently launched in the US as well as Europe for type-II diabetes. The drug recorded sales of approximately $20 million in the quarter.

Marketing, selling and administrative expenses decreased 8% to $1,117 million in the third quarter of 2009, primarily because of a continued reduction in general and administrative expenses. Advertising and product promotion spending was flat at $361 million in the third quarter of 2009. Research and development expenses came in at $838 million compared to $834 million in the third quarter of 2008.

Bristol exited the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $7.9 billion. The company expects to end the year with earnings between $2.00 and $2.05 which implies growth of a minimum of 15%. Revenue is expected to grow in the mid-single digits which includes a significant foreign exchange headwind.

During the quarter, Bristol-Myers completed the acquisition of Medarex Inc. for $2.1 billion. Through this acquisition it strengthens its product portfolio since the company has acquired the UltiMAb Human Antibody Development System, which produces high-affinity, fully human antibodies for use in a broad range of therapeutic areas, including immunology and oncology.

Bristol-Myers also gets access to Medarex’s next-generation Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) technology, which is a novel and proprietary platform that could open new fields in oncology drug development.

Furhermore, Bristol-Myers has acquired full ownership rights to ipilimumab, which was being developed jointly with Medarex. Ipilimumab, which is in late-stage clinical testing, could be a significant contributor to the company’s future growth on approval.

The acquisition of Medarex is aimed to counter the loss of revenues that will arise once Bristol-Myers loses exclusivity on its key product Plavix, co-promoted with Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), in 2011.

Moreover, Plavix is facing competition from Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Effient which was launched recently. Additionally, Bristol is working to build a strong pipeline of candidates that could contribute to revenues in the coming years. Furthermore, Bristol’s management is aiming to reduce costs and is shedding less profitable and non-core businesses.

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