Amgen Misses Earnings Estimate by a Penny

Amgen Inc.’s net income fell 25% in the fourth quarter, missing Wall Street’s expectations by a penny.

Amgen said its fourth-quarter net income was $210.8 million, or 19 cents a share, down from $281.6 million, or 26 cents a share, in the previous year.

Revenue for the quarter was $951.4 million, up from $926.9 million for the same period in 1999.

Excluding charges, which included acquisition-related costs, contributions to the Amgen Foundation and licensing fees, the company reported operating profit of $265.8 million, or 24 cents a share.

Analysts surveyed by First Call / Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 25 cents.

For the year, Amgen had $3.6 billion in revenue, up from $3.3 billion in 1999.

Net earnings in 2000 were $1.14 billion, or $1.05 a share, up from nearly $1.1 billion, or $1.02 a share.

Fourth-quarter sales of Epogen, a key Amgen product, increased 9% to $533 million. Epogen stimulates red-blood-cell production in chemotherapy and kidney-dialysis patients.

But sales of Neupogen, another longtime moneymaker for Amgen, dropped 12% to $311 million.

The company said it believes demand actually grew, but foreign sales were hampered by the strong dollar. Also, the 1999 comparison figures reflected stockpiling of the drug because of millennium-related fears, the company said.