Amgen’s 1st-Quarter Net Income Rises 8%
Amgen Inc., the world’s No. 1 biotechnology company, said Tuesday that first-quarter profit rose 8%, as stockpiling in advance of the year 2000 calendar turnover hurt sales of its two main products.
Net income rose to $266 million, or 25 cents a share, from $247 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 9.2% to $814.1 million from $745.5 million.
Sales of both Epogen, an anemia treatment, and Neupogen, a cancer drug, were hurt because some customers stockpiled the drugs in the fourth quarter amid concern about potential problems related to the shift to the year 2000, Amgen said. Although the company warned investors about the problem in January, the stockpiling took a bigger bite out of first-quarter sales than Amgen had forecast.
Thousand Oaks-based Amgen released its results after the close of markets. Shares fell in after-hours trading and were quoted as low as $50. They closed at $54.31 in regular Nasdaq trading.
Epogen sales rose 12% to $440 million in the first quarter from $395 million. Amgen in January estimated that about $16 million in fourth-quarter Epogen sales were made ahead of the first quarter because of Y2K stockpiling. On Tuesday it raised that estimate to $36 million.
Neupogen first-quarter sales fell 13% to $250 million from $287 million. Amgen said that Y2K stockpiling accounted for about $59 million in fourth-quarter sales, up from an estimated $29 million in January.
Although the company met the 25-cents-a-share average estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial, it said first-quarter results were boosted by pretax benefits of about $40 million.
At a Glance
Other Southern California earnings, excluding one-time gains and charges unless noted:
* Avery Dennison Corp., the Pasadena-based maker of labels and other office products, reported a 15% rise in first-quarter net income for a record $70.2 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with $61 million, or 60 cents, a year ago. The results were slightly better than analysts’ estimates of 68 cents. Revenue rose 3.4% to a record $965.3 million from $934.0 million.
* Torrance-based Imperial Credit Industries Inc. reported first-quarter net loss of $15.9 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with 6.8 million, or 18 cents, a year ago. Net interest income fell to $20.7 million from $25.3 million.
* Pasadena-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. reported record fiscal second-quarter net income of $18.1 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $16.2 million, or 61 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose to $881.8 million from $779.9 million.
* Malibu-based toy maker Jakks Pacific Inc. said first-quarter profit more than tripled as the company sold more of its products, such as its World Wrestling Federation action figures. Net income rose to $6.6 million, or 32 cents a share, from $2.01 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier. The results beat analysts’ estimates of 29 cents. There were 62% more shares outstanding in the quarter than a year ago. Revenue more than doubled to $50.8 million from $25 million.
* Restaurant operator Jerry’s Famous Deli, based in Studio City, reported record first-quarter net income of $800,000, or 17 cents per share, compared with $510,000, or 11 cents, a year ago. Revenue fell to $18.8 million from $19.6 million, which the company attributed to the sale of its Pasadena restaurant in the year-ago quarter.
* Rancho Cucamonga-based Pacer Technology, the maker of Super Glue and other adhesives, reported fiscal third-quarter operating loss of $1.7 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a loss of $400,000, or 2 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 11% to $1.1 million.
* Calabasas-based THQ Inc., a video-game software maker, said first-quarter profit fell by more than half because it sold fewer wrestling games. Net income fell to $4.69 million, or 23 cents a share, from $9.48 million, or 48 cents, a year ago. THQ was forecast to earn 22 cents per share. Revenue fell 11% to $70.4 million, from $78.8 million. Last year’s first-quarter earnings were driven by sales of three World Championship Wrestling games whose licenses have expired, the company said.
