Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) stock rose over 0.6% on April 25th, 2017 (as of 11:56 AM GMT-4; Source: Google finance) despite a weak full-year guidance, but the company has posted better than expected results in the first quarter of FY 18. Net income gained 11.6% year-over-year, while non-GAAP net income surged 5.7%, non-GAAP earnings per share were up 10.2% year-over-year and its cash flow ops surged to 2,727, increasing 14.3% compared to the year-ago quarter.
AMGN in the first quarter of FY 18 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $3.47, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $3.23, according to data compiled by Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 1.6 percent to $5.55 billion in the first quarter of FY 18, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $5.46 billion. In the year-ago quarter, Amgen posted adjusted earnings of $3.15 per share, while its revenue amounted to $5.46 billion. The company’s product sales reached 5,343, which is an increase of 2.8% compared to the year-ago quarter.
Moreover, during the first quarter of 2018, AMGN’s key products Neulasta and Enbrel sold 1,155 and 1,105 units respectively, fell 4.5% and 6.4% year-over-year respectively. Sensipar/Mimpara sold 497 units, has fallen 18.1% year-over-year, while Prolia gained 16.2% to 494 units, Repatha sales surged 151% to 123 and Blincyto rose 44.1% to 49 units.
Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2018, the total Operating Expenses rose 2 percent, with all expense categories reflecting savings from the company’s transformation and process improvement efforts. Cost of Sales margin improved by 0.4 percentage points due to lower royalties, offset partially by increasing manufacturing costs. R&D expenses were flat. SG&A expenses increased 6 percent due to investments in product launches and marketed product support. Operating Margin decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 56.9 percent.
Additionally, for the second quarter, AMGN expects to launch migraine prevention candidate Aimovig erenumab, which is under FDA review. The candidate is a human mAb that inhibits the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor. Amgen also expects to launch Amgevita, a biosimilar of Humira adalimumab from AbbVie Inc., in Europe this year. Adalimumab targets TNF alpha.
Meanwhile, for 2018, AMGN expects the adjusted profit to be in the range of $12.80 to $13.70 per share, while analysts are expecting for adjusted profit of $13.28 per share. The company is projecting sales to be in the range of $21.9 billion to $22.8 billion, while Wall Street were expecting for $22.7 billion in sales