Amgen Q1 earnings beat Street view; lifts full-year earnings guidance

Biotechnology firm Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) reported first-quarter earnings that increased from last year and exceeded estimates, while revenues remained unchanged. Meanwhile, the management revised up its full-year earnings and revenue outlook. Following the announcement, the company’s stock gained modestly during Tuesday’s after-hours trading session.

Earnings, adjusted for special items, were $3.56 per share, compared to $3.47 per share in the last-year quarter. Analysts had forecast a lower profit. Unadjusted earnings dropped to $1.99 billion or $3.18 per share from $2.31 billion or $3.25 per share in the first quarter of 2018, hurt mainly by an increase in operating expenses.

Revenues, meanwhile, remained broadly unchanged at $5.55 billion and came in line with the estimates. The top-line was negatively impacted by a 1% decline in product sales globally, though most of the new products including Prolia, Repatha and KYPROLIS registered double-digit growth.

Robert Bradway, CEO of Amgen, said, “We continue to generate strong, volume-driven growth for our newer products, while effectively defending our mature products. We are also advancing a record number of first-in-class molecules targeting significant areas of unmet need through our pipeline.”

The top-line remained flat as overall sales were negatively impacted by a 1% decline in product sales globally

For the whole of 2019, the management expects revenues in the range of $22 billion to $22.9 billion, which represents a modest increase from the earlier outlook. The guidance range for unadjusted earnings was narrowed to $11.68-$12.73 per share from the previously estimated $11.55-$12.75 per share.

Also see: Amgen Inc Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

The company currently expects adjusted earnings in the range of $13.25 per share to $14.30 per share for 2019, compared to the earlier forecast of $13.10-$14.30 per share. The estimate for full-year capital expenditure is around $700 million.

Early Tuesday, Pfizer (PFE) reported stronger than expected first-quarter earnings and revenues, which also increased from last year. The drugmaker also revised up the profit outlook for fiscal 2019.

After reaching a new peak during the final weeks of last year, Amgen shares lost momentum in 2019 and lost about 7% so far this year. The stock closed Tuesday’s session lower.

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