Amgen Inc. said its first-quarter profit rose 11 percent on increased sales of its anemia and arthritis drugs, but the biotechnology company on Monday forecast profit this year at the low end of its previous view.
Amgen shares rose nearly 1 percent in after-hours trading as positive news on two drugs in late stages of development tempered concerns over safety issues that have clouded the outlook for sales of the company's biggest product, the anemia drug Aranesp. Investors also were relieved that the 2007 forecast was not slashed.
To meet the low end of its earnings forecast and still "invest heavily in the future of the company in a period of uncertainty," Amgen will trim expense growth, Chief Executive Kevin Sharer said on a conference call.
The world's biggest biotech company by sales said experimental osteoporosis drug denosumab -- considered the most important medicine in Amgen's development pipeline -- met all primary and secondary goals in a small, late-stage study, but key data on the drug's ability to reduce fractures won't be available until next year.
"Amgen's reliance on denosumab is becoming more and more obvious," said Robert W. Baird analyst Christopher Raymond.
Amgen posted a net profit of $1.11 billion, or 94 cents per share, compared with a profit of $1 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the Thousand Oaks, California-based company earned $1.08 per share, matching analysts' average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.
Amgen said earnings per share for the year are now expected to be at the low end of its prior range of $4.30 to $4.50. It said its revenue expectations for the year are under review but that it will take action to reduce operating expenses to offset revenue impact, likely due to declining Aranesp sales.
"Many investors feared the worst and that is that they would withdraw guidance," said Eric Schmidt, an analyst at Cowen and Co.
Worldwide sales of Aranesp rose 14 percent from a year ago to $1.02 billion but were down from $1.1 billion in the previous quarter.
"Aranesp did come in a lot lighter than we had thought," said Baird's Raymond.
George Morrow, head of Amgen's commercial operations, said the company has seen "softening" in Aranesp sales during the first few weeks of April.
Total revenue for the quarter rose 15 percent to $3.69 billion. Analysts were estimating revenue of $3.72 billion.
Aranesp use is expected to decline amid concern that it and similar anemia drugs for kidney disease and cancer patients have been used too aggressively and could be harming people.
Amgen dodged a bullet last week when a study of the drug showed no difference in risk of death from a placebo in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-induced anemia is by far the most lucrative Aranesp indication.
In a study of cancer patients not undergoing chemotherapy, reported in January, increased deaths seen with Aranesp heightened concerns about the class of drugs, including Amgen's older Epogen. The drugs are forms of the natural protein erythropoietin used to boost red blood cell levels.
Amgen shares are down about 17 percent since the study was released in January.
Epogen sales rose 3 percent to $625 million.
Amgen said the experimental drug AMG 531 successfully met all goals of a pivotal late-stage trial and it expects to seek approval of the medicine in the United States and Europe this year.
The drug treats immune thrombocytopenic purpura, a condition in which blood does not clot as it should due to a shortage of platelets, which are crucial to clotting.
Sales of Neulasta and Neupogen, used to boost white blood cells in chemotherapy patients, rose 14 percent to $1.02 billion.
Enbrel, for rheumatoid arthritis and the skin condition psoriasis, saw sales rise 11 percent to $730 million.
Amgen's new colon cancer drug Vectibix, which is facing tougher-than-expected competition from ImClone Systems Inc's (NasdaqGS:IMCL - News) Erbitux, had sales of $59 million in its second full quarter on the market, up from $39 million in the previous quarter and better than Wall Street estimates of $47 million.
Amgen shares rose nearly 1 percent to $62.80 in extended trading from their Nasdaq close at $62.19.
Texas Instruments Inc. late Monday said its quarterly profit slipped nearly 12% from a year ago after it sold a business unit and faced weaker demand for its chips used in mobile phones and other electronic gear. Still, TI shares surged 10% in late trading after the chipmaker issued a bullish second-quarter forecast and said its business is improving after two straight quarters of declining sales. Chief Executive Rich Templeton said in a statement that orders are rebounding, adding that an inventory correction the company has faced "largely ended" in the first quarter. TI reported first-quarter net income of $516 million, or 35 cents a share, down from $585 million, or 36 cents, a year earlier. In the year-ago period, the company had income of $43 million from a sensors and controls business it sold in April 2006. The company's per-share results topped TI's own forecast and the 31 cents-a-share expected by analysts polled by Thomson Financial. For the three months ended March 31, TI reported sales of $3.19 billion, down 4% from a year ago, hurt by excess inventories of phone chips and other electronics components. Sales came in just above the $3.14 billion consensus estimate of analysts.
By product segment, the company said sales of chips used in mid-to-low end phones fell from a year ago, while sales of chips used in higher-end phones held steady. TI said its DLP chips used in TVs and projectors dropped 15% from a year ago. It said revenue from chips used in wireless telecom equipment was up "strongly" from a year ago. The company's gross margin rose to 51.3% in the first quarter, up from 50.1% a year ago, helped by stronger sales of the company's high-performance analog chips used in a range of electronics, such as hand-held devices and industrial gear. TI forecasted second-quarter financial targets above Wall Street's expectations. The company pegged sales in the range of $3.32 billion to $3.6 billion and earnings per share between 39 cents and 45 cents. Analysts estimated sales of $3.3 billion and earnings of 37 cents a share. The company said order trends picked up a month ago. Daily sales in March rose 20% over February with April looking to match the same pace, TI said. In late trading, TI shares rose to $35.50, up $3.09. End of Story
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