Amgen Boosts Forecast; Shares Advance

Updated from 5:37 p.m. EDT

Amgen (AMGN Quote) surged past analysts' third-quarter profit expectations Wednesday, with some help from foreign exchange rates and an accounting change, and the biotech company raised its full-year profit and revenue outlook.

Shares were up $2.80, or 5.6%, at $52.50 in recent post-market trading.

Amgen earned $1.23 a share in the quarter, up from $1.08 a year prior, on an adjusted basis, while revenue rose 7% to $3.88 billion. Those results surpassed the average expectation of analysts, who were looking for $1.08 a share on revenue of $3.7 billion.

Safety, reimbursement and regulatory concerns have in recent years jolted Amgen's anemia drug sales and quarterly revenue. But last quarter, Amgen beat earnings expectations, fueled by better-than-expected sales of anemia drugs Aranesp and Epogen. The Food and Drug Administration has since announced label changes for the class of medications that includes Aranesp and Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ Quote)Procrit.

Third-quarter product sales again beat expectations, though Amgen received some aid. The company reported $845 million in worldwide sales of Aranesp, up from $818 million in the third quarter of the year prior. However, U.S. Aranesp sales were lifted by $54 million thanks to an accounting change.

Amgen that without the change, U.S. sales would have declined 12%. The drop, which was slightly offset by price increases, reflects the damage done to demand by regulatory, reimbursement and label alterations.

Without the help of favorable foreign-exchange rates, Amgen said international sales of Aranesp decreased 2%. All told, worldwide sales of Aranesp, excluding the accounting change and benefit from foreign exchange, dropped 8% year over year.