Amgen’s 2nd-quarter net income slips on higher taxes as anemia drug sales slip

Amgen 2Q net income slips on higher taxes

NEW YORK — Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said Thursday that its second-quarter net income slipped 5 percent, mainly on higher taxes, but the results topped Wall Street expectations.

Still, the company warned that a weaker Euro could cut into full-year revenue.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif., company earned $1.2 billion, down from nearly $1.3 billion a year earlier, though results remained flat at $1.25 per share. The net income dip came mainly from higher taxes after a research and development tax credit was not extended in 2010.

Revenue rose 2 percent to $3.8 billion from $3.7 billion, though the boost came mainly from other sources of revenue as anemia drug sales again dragged down overall product sales.

Excluding charges, the company earned $1.38 per share, topping Wall Street expectations for $1.30 per share on $3.74 billion in revenue.

Sales of the anemia drug Aranesp fell 13 percent to $603 million. Meanwhile, sales of the anemia drug Epogen rose 3 percent to $657 million, while sales of Neulasta and Neupogen, which help prevent infections in chemotherapy patients, rose 1 percent to $1.17 billion.

Sales of the rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis drug Enbrel fell 2 percent to $877 million.

The company partly blamed $45 million in costs related to recently enacted health care reforms for undercutting some product revenue. While the reforms come with some costs for the company and its peers, the biotechnology industry won a victory in March with measures that give new biotechnology drugs 12 years of competitive protection from biosimilars, or copies of biotechnology drugs.

Looking ahead, the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook that net income would be near the low end of the $5.05 to $5.25 per share range. But, the company said a weak Euro would likely mean revenue below $15.1 billion instead of between $15.1 billion and $15.5 billion.

The company continues to expect a Food and Drug Administration decision by Nov. 18 on Prolia as a treatment for bone damage suffered by cancer patients. The drug was approved in June as a treatment for postmenopausal women at risk for fractures.

Shares rose 3 cents to $53.42 in after-hours trading after shedding 39 cents to close at $53.37 during the regular trading session.