On Wednesday, Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, impressed several financial analysts as they reported an increased third-quarter profit. The company's much higher-than-expected revenue was attributed to a 30-percent upsurge from the price increases and inventory stocking of rheumatoid arthritis drug, Enbrel.
Aside from its third-quarter profit reporting, Amgen also raised its full-year earnings forecast and issued its first 2016 projections for adjusted earnings. According to Reuters, the company increases its forecast over the course of the year. And excluding some items, it earned $2.72 per share in the quarter and shares rose 1 percent to $164.20.
Next year, Amgen is expecting adjusted earnings of $10.35 to $10.75 per share and revenue of $21.7 billion to $22.3 billion. The company also announced that it will increase its quarterly dividend 27 percent to $1 per share.
"We expected Amgen to put up a good Q3 and they delivered," Cowen and Co analyst Eric Schmidt said. While RBC Capital markets analyst Michael Yee added, "The surprise here is the strong revenue numbers well above consensus, and the EPS well above, due in part to management of expenses."
Amgen started to feel the increasing competition from the first U.S. biosimilar to its Neupogen infection fighter. Thus, sales fell 5 percent to $284 million. Fortunately, longer lasting Neulasta saw sales rise 6 percent to $1.26 billion, topping expectations of $1.17 billion. In addition, Enbrel sales also soared to $1.46 billion, topping analysts' expectations of about $1.23 billion. But inventory stocking could spell lower fourth-quarter sales.
Amgen, however, did not report sales of its potent new cholesterol fighter Repatha after gaining U.S. approval in August.
Aside from the aforementioned drugs, analysts were also impressed by the growth in sales of Prolia and Xgeva, Amgen's drug for osteoporosis and bone cancer. Bloomberg Business noted Prolia's quarterly sales rose 25 percent from a year earlier. Xgeva, on the other hand, was up 19 percent.
"The company just clobbered all the earnings estimates all year," Smead Capital Management CEO Bill Smead said. "For them to be growing now in the third year of these products at the 19 percent revenue level, especially when you take a little haircut on the currency on the sales outside the United States, those are impressive numbers."
Amgen's profit increase came amid the company's major restructuring, new drug development and two recent deals aimed at producing future drugs, an acquisition and a partnership with a second company, ABC News reported.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Amgen's Imlygic on Tuesday. It is a first-of-a-kind drug that uses herpes virus to infiltrate and destroy deadly skin cancer tumors that can't be surgically removed. Moreover, there are also other drugs approved since last December, which included Blincyto, a drug used to treat a rare form of leukemia.
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