Amgen Tops Analysts’ Profit Estimates, Raises 2015 Forecast

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Higher sales of Amgen’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel and some newer drugs boosted second-quarter profit 7 percent. Both earnings and sales for the quarter topped Wall Street estimates. Amgen reduced its capital spending outlook to about $700 million, from its previous estimate of about $800 million.

The company’s stock was up about 2% in after-hours trading.

“Focused execution with our growth products drove record revenues in the second quarter, and expense discipline further leveraged earnings and our ability to invest in new and forthcoming launches”, said Robert A. Bradway, Amgen’s chairman and chief executive.

Enbrel sales rose 8 percent to $1.36 billion, driven by price increases despite a highly competitive market. Prolia sales rose 29 percent to $340 million, while XGeva revenue gained 11 percent to $331 million in the quarter.

The FDA recently granted approval for Amgen’s Kyprolis combination therapy as a second-line treatment for patients with multiple myeloma, which will allow access to the drug to a broader population of patients.

Neulasta sales gained 2 percent to $1.15 billion in the latest quarter, while Neupogen sales shrank 14 percent to $256 million.

Net income rose 6.9 percent to $1.65 billion, or $2.15 a share. Excluding special items, the company’s earnings came in at $2.57 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of $2.43 and revenue of $5.319 billion. Analysts had estimated $5.31 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. The company said it has cut down research costs by 6 percent, driven by savings from transformation and process improvement efforts.

For 2015, Amgen now projects adjusted earnings of $9.55 to $9.80 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $9.35 to $9.65 per share.

The company’s revenue increased 4% to $5.37 billion in the three months that ended June 30 compared with the same period previous year.

Analysts now expect earnings of $9.62 per share on sales of $21.17 billion in 2015. Shares closed up 22 cents or a fraction of a percent to $171.69 on the Nasdaq.