Amgen's Revenue a Little Shy

Updated from 4:47 p.m. EDT

Amgen's (AMGN) third-quarter product sales climbed 19% from a year ago, led by gains in its star names like Aranesp and Enbrel, but overall revenue fell just short of Wall Street's estimate.

The big biotech posted adjusted earnings of $1.1 billion, or 85 cents a share, for the third quarter. A year ago, Amgen earned $839 million, or 64 cents a share.

Calculated by generally accepted accounting principles, the company earned $967 million, or 77 cents a share, vs. $236 million, or 18 cents, in the prior year. Amgen's 2004 third quarter included a $554 million acquisition-related charge.

Total product sales rose to $3.05 billion from $2.56 billion last year. Amgen's overall revenue was up 16% to $3.15 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting a third-quarter profit of 83 cents a share and a top line of $3.26 billion.

The company reiterated its full-year guidance of $3.10 to $3.20 a share in adjusted earnings, and Amgen still expects revenue to rise by a "mid-to-high teens" percent from 2004. As of Wednesday, analysts were looking for full-year earnings of $3.19 and revenue of $12.67 billion.

Shares of Amgen were lower in extended trading, lately down $3.61, or 4.6%, at $74.48.

Worldwide sales of Aranesp jumped 38% to $840 million in the third quarter, with U.S. sales accounting for $542 million of the total. Enbrel's sales gained 35% to $668 million, while combined sales of Neulasta and Neupogen reached $882 million, up 17% from the previous year's quarter.

Sales of Epogen dropped 12% to $599 million, mainly because of lower wholesaler inventory levels. About one-third of the decline could be traced to Epogen losing out to Aranesp, a newer generation of the same type of drug, Amgen said during its conference call after the market closed Wednesday.

Also during the call, executives briefly addressed an antitrust lawsuit brought by Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Ortho Biotech unit regarding Amgen's sales practices, saying the claims have no merit.

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