Profits Top Estimates at Genzyme

Genzyme (GENZ), a maker of treatments for rare diseases, exceeded analysts' expectations for second-quarter earnings and revenue, sending its shares up more than 7% Wednesday.

Earnings totaled $134.5 million, or 49 cents a share, in the second quarter, up from $123.6 million, or 46 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

The latest quarter's results include a $42 million gain related to Genzyme's tender of its investment in biopharmaceutical company Cambridge Antibody Technology, which is being acquired by European pharmaceuticals concern AstraZeneca (GENZ).

Additionally, Genzyme's most recent quarter reflects stock-compensation expenses of $55.3 million, or 20 cents a share. Last year's earnings didn't have any stock-compensation costs.

Excluding stock compensation and other items, Genzyme would have earned 68 cents a share, 2 cents better than the average profit expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenue of $793.4 million was nearly $15 million better than the consensus estimate.

The stock was up $4.43 to $62.41 in recent trading.

"We had a strong quarter with excellent progress throughout the business, including solid results in the three product areas that were below expectations in the first quarter," said Henri Termeer, Genzyme's chief executive.

The company reiterated its full-year guidance of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion in revenue and earnings, before items, of $2.65 to $2.75 a share.

For the second quarter, sales of the Fabry disease drug Fabrazyme were up 20% to $89 million, boosted by the number of new patients on the drug. Sales of Gaucher disease drug Cerezyme were $254 million, up 8%, and revenue from Aldurazyme, a treatment for a genetic disease called MPS I, were $23.5 million, up 23%. Aldurazyme is comarketed with BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN).

The Pompe disease drug Myozyme, which was approved in April and launched the next month, had sales of $6.5 million through the end of the second quarter.