By Deena Beasley
(Reuters) -Amgen on Tuesday said its adjusted fourth-quarter profit rose 15%, driven by a 20% increase in revenue following the biotechnology company’s October acquisition of rare disease drugmaker Horizon Therapeutics.
Revenue for the quarter totaled $8.2 billion, edging ahead of analysts’ estimates of $8.1 billion, according to LSEG data.
Excluding Horizon’s medications, Amgen said year-over-year product sales grew 5% as volume growth of 9% was partially offset by lower net selling prices.
Shares of Amgen, which fell 2% in regular trading on Tuesday to close at $316.07, were a fraction lower at $315 after hours.
Adjusted earnings per share rose to $4.71 from $4.09 a year earlier, beating analyst estimates of $4.61.
For full-year 2024, the company said it expects adjusted earnings per share of $18.90 to $20.30 on revenue of $32.4 billion to $33.8 billion. Analysts are estimating 2024 earnings of $20.02 per share and revenue of $32.7 billion.
“The guidance looks good and in line with consensus,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in an email.
The outlook reflects the addition of Horizon as well as more volume driven growth in worldwide sales of Amgen’s drugs, Chief Financial Officer Peter Griffith told Reuters.
Quarterly product sales were led by a 12% jump to $1.1 billion for the osteoporosis drug Prolia. Sales of rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel fell 8% to just over $1 billion.
Amgen’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon was finalized after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission removed its oppositionin exchange for Amgen agreeing not to use anticompetitive tactics.
For the period between the deal’s Oct. 6 close and the end of last year, Amgen said sales of Tepezza, Horizon’s thyroid eye disease drug, totaled $448 million, while sales of gout drug Krystexxa were $272 million.
Amgen said it remains on track to report the first human trial data for its experimental oral obesity drug AMG786 in the first half of this year, and to announce results from a mid-stage trial of its lead injectable weight loss candidate, MariTide, late this year.
Yee said it was encouraging that Amgen confirmed it is on track with MariTide and planning for a comprehensive Phase 3 program across multiple uses.
“We anticipate more than a dozen significant pipeline milestones in 2024,” Amgen CEO Robert Bradway said in statement.
Amgen said it plans to buy back no more than $500 million of its shares this year. “We are focused on our deleveraging goals,” Griffith said.
(Reporting By Deena BeasleyEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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