Amgen Meets Estimates

Updated from 4:24 p.m. EDT

Amgen(AMGN Quote) posted higher first-quarter earnings but said the financial outlook for its anemia drug franchise is still unclear and profit for the full year would be at the low end of expectations.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based biotech firm reported first-quarter net income of $1.11 billion, or 94 cents a share, compared with net income of $1 billion, or 82 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding stock option-based compensation, Amgen earnings rose 19% year over year to $1.08 a share in the first quarter, which matched analysts' consensus expectations, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue in the quarter was $3.69 billion, up 15% from the year-ago quarter but shy of analysts' consensus of $3.73 billion.

Amgen's earnings report shares the spotlight with last Thursday's release of positive data from an important clinical trial involving its anemia drug Aranesp. Results from that closely watched study showed that Aranesp did not contribute to the deaths of small cell lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The study's results are expected to quiet recent worries about the safety of Aranesp when used to treat anemia in cancer patients. Aranesp sales account for about 30% of Amgen's total product revenue, so the potential loss of significant Aranesp sales in the cancer market has spooked investors and caused the company's stock price to underperform.