Amgen Beats, Despite Weak Sales
07/26/07 - 06:46 PM EDT
Elizabeth Trotta
Reporting after the bell Thursday, Amgen(AMGN Quote - Cramer on AMGN - Stock Picks) posted slow second-quarter growth in U.S. sales, but surpassed adjusted earnings expectations.
On a general accepted accounting principles basis, Amgen earned 90 cents a share, including $289 million in pre-tax charges for asset impairment and related costs. The company earned a penny a share on a GAAP basis in the comparable year-ago quarter, which included a $1.1 billion write-off related to the acquisition of Abgenix. The company reported adjusted net income of $1.27 billion, vs. $1.24 billion in the year-ago quarter, and adjusted earnings of $1.12 a share, compared to $1.05 in 2006. The Thomson Financial consensus target was $1.06 a share. Amgen said adjusted EPS leverage was driven by fewer shares used in the computation of adjusted diluted EPS -- 1.13 billion vs. 1.18 billion -- and a lower adjusted tax rate, which was due to a favorable audit settlement in this quarter. Total revenue increased 3% during the second quarter to $3.7 billion, vs. $3.6 billion in the second quarter of 2006. "This has been a difficult period and this quarter's low growth is a reflection of that reality," said CEO Kevin Sharer. "That said, we are making progress on many fronts to change this trend and return Amgen to strong future performance."
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