Amgen quarterly revenue dips 3% but profit tops Street expectations
By Deena Beasley
July 30 (Reuters) - Amgen Inc on Tuesday said its second-quarter revenue fell 3% due to more competition for its older off-patent drugs, but rising sales of newer medicines helped the company's results exceed Wall Street estimates.
The U.S. biotechnology company said adjusted earnings per share rose 4% to $3.97, while Wall Street analysts, on average, expected $3.56 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. A lower number of outstanding shares drove the earnings beat.
Amgen reported a net profit of $2.17 billion, or $3.57 per share, for the quarter, compared with a profit of $2.29 billion, or $3.50 per share, a year ago.
Total revenue of $5.87 billion, while lower than a year ago, topped analysts' estimates of $5.66 billion.
Sales of potent cholesterol fighter Repatha rose 3% to $152 million, below Wall Street estimates of $157 million. Sales of Amgen's new migraine drug Aimovig totaled $83 million for the quarter, beating the $77.4 million projected by analysts.
But sales of Neulasta, which fights infections by boosting white blood cells, fell 25% to $824 million, while sales of kidney drug Sensipar dropped 71% to $122 million as competition from cheaper generics and biosimilars increased.
The company still raised the lower end of its full-year outlook and now expects adjusted earnings of $13.75 to $14.30 per share on revenue of $22.4 billion to $22.9 billion. It had previously forecast $13.25 to $14.30 per share on revenue of $22 billion to $22.9 billion.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley Editing by Bill Berkrot)