By Jorge Mercado Thursday, April 27th, 2023

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen delivered a sound earnings beat in the first quarter of 2023, the company announced after the markets closed on April 27.

Amgen, one of the largest biotechnology companies in the world, generated net income worth $2.8 billion in the first quarter or $5.28 earnings per share. This nearly doubled last year’s first-quarter mark of $1.44 billion as well.

The company said in a press release the sizable increase was due to “other income due to a mark-to-market gain on our investment in BeiGene, Ltd. and lower weighted-average shares outstanding in Q1 2023.”

Adjusted for one-time losses, Amgen’s earnings per share was $3.98, a decrease of 6% from the same quarter a year ago due to decreased revenues and higher operating expenses, primarily related to research & development.

The company’s research and development costs were over $1 billion in the first quarter, a 5% increase.

Despite the drop, the company’s non-GAAP earnings per share were still higher than analysts’ expectations by 16 cents, according to Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Still, Amgen’s sales disappointed in the first quarter, missing expectations by about $70 million.

Overall, Amgen’s revenue decreased ​​2% to $6.1 billion in the first quarter, primarily driven by lower other revenue from its COVID-19 manufacturing collaboration, partially offset by a 2% increase in product sales.

Amgen’s former top-selling drug, Enbrel, saw its biggest drop-off, with sales falling 33% to just over $579 million in sales due to the generics of the drug entering the market.

Prolia, Amgen’s treatment for osteoporosis, led the way for the company, generating sales worth $927 million, a 9% increase.

Amgen shares closed at $240.34 on April 27 and shares dropped nearly 3% in after-hours trading.

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