Amgen fourth-quarter profit rises 1%

Biotech giant Amgen Inc. reported a 1% profit increase for the fourth quarter of 2009, with stable sales for many of its popular drugs.

The Thousand Oaks company said its drug sales in the quarter were mixed, with its colon cancer drug Vectibix showing growth. But sales of its anemia drug, Aranesp, dropped 20% in the U.S. and 8% worldwide after a study linked the medicine to increased risk of stroke, the company said.

In a conference call with analysts, the company said fourth-quarter sales for Vectibix were $66 million worldwide, up 44% from $46 million a year earlier. For the full year, Vectibix sales were $233 million, up 52% from 2008, Amgen said.

Sales of Neulasta and Neupogen, two anti-infection drugs, were $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter, up 2% from a year earlier.

Profit for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31 rose to $931 million, or 92 cents a share, from $925 million, or 87 cents, a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenue grew 2%, to $3.81 billion from $3.75 billion, while full-year revenue fell 2%, to $14.6 billion from $15 billion in 2008.

Amgen expects a modest increase in revenue this year, predicting between $15.1 billion and $15.5 billion. It projects growth bolstered by the expected government approval and release of new drugs including denosumab, a post-menopausal osteoporosis drug to be sold under the name Prolia.

“We delivered solid performance in 2009 and look forward to growing our top and bottom line meaningfully in 2010,” Kevin Sharer, Amgen’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “We are ready and look forward to launching denosumab worldwide this year.”

Amgen shares dropped 89 cents, or 1.6%, to close at $55.71 on Monday. Earnings were announced after the market closed. In after-hours trading, the stock rose about 0.5%.

nathan.olivarezgiles@

latimes.com