Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), maker of the anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen, declared last Tuesday that its profit for the third quarter of this year had more than doubled from the same period a year ago. Net income was stated as $1.11 billion, or $1.41 per share, up from 2011 Q3’s $454 million, or 50 cents per share.
Contrary to analyst expectations of adjusted income to be $1.48 per share, final figures showed $1.67 per share and a total of $1.31 billion. In 2011, adjusted income was $1.28 billion, excluding $780 million to cover a settlement of various investigations into Amgen’s marketing practices.
Total revenues were $4.32 billion, well above estimates of $4.24 billion.
Various drugs helped push sales up by 8 percent overall, as the Washington Post reports; Enbrel—an immune disorders drug—rose by 17 percent, and Prolia (osteoporosis) and Xgeva (to prevent fractures in cancerous bones) both performed strongly in the market.
Amgen’s biggest franchise, Neulasta and Neupogen, didn’t show as strong a performance; sales rose by just 1 percent. Aranesp sales in fact took a hit, dropping by 17 percent.
Amgen, which is based in California, raised the 2012 profit estimates to $6.50-6.60 per share, from $6.20-6.35. Sales estimates for next year also rose; they now total $17.2-17.3 billion, rather than the July 2012 forecast of $16.9 to $17.2 billion.
From the Washington Post:
“We delivered solid growth in revenue and earnings,” CEO Robert A. Bradway said in a statement. “Our marketed products are performing well and we continue to make progress with key pipeline projects.”
After-hours trading on Tuesday saw Amgen shares rise by $1.21 to reach $88.53.
