UPDATE 2-Bristol profit beats forecasts, helped by Plavix

(Adds details, analyst comment, product sales, byline)

By Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co on Thursday posted quarterly earnings that beat forecasts, helped by higher sales of blood clot preventer Plavix and schizophrenia treatment Abilify, and the company announced an additional $1 billion in planned cost cuts.

The New York-based drugmaker earned $764 million, or 38 cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with $706 million, or 36 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding special items, such as discontinued operations, Bristol-Myers (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) earned 43 cents per share. Analysts on average expected 40 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

"The quarterly beat came primarily from stronger-than-expected Abilify sales, coupled with solid cost-containment," J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research report.

Global company sales from continuing operations jumped 16 percent to $5.2 billion, above the $5.09 billion Reuters Estimates forecast. They would have risen 11 percent if not for favorable foreign exchange factors.

Bristol said it is on track to achieve $1.5 billion in planned cumulative savings by 2010 from a productivity initiative begun late last year. Moreover, the company said it is taking steps to create an additional $1 billion in cost savings by 2012.

The cost savings could somewhat help offset expected plunging sales of Plavix when the $5 billion-a-year anti-clot drug faces U.S. generic competition by May 2012.