THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Amgen Inc. said Monday cost-cutting measures and a restructuring program helped push a 40 percent boost in second-quarter profit, despite a continued decline in anemia drug sales. The better-than-expected financial results prompted the company to boost its full-year profit outlook and investors pushed shares higher in after-hours trading. The company earned $1.27 billion, or $1.25 per share, up from profit of $906 million, or 84 cents per share, during the year-earlier period. Revenue fell 1 percent to $3.71 billion from $3.76 billion. Excluding charges, the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company expected profit of $1.29 per share, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast profit of $1.16 per share with just under $3.58 billion in revenue. Amgen now expects 2009 profit between $4.80 and $4.95 per share, up from prior guidance of $4.55 to $4.75 per share. It expects revenue at the upper end of its $14.4 billion to $14.8 billion outlook. Analysts expect profit of $4.57 on revenue of $14.33 billion. The positive financial report provided a boost to the company as analysts and investors look forward to an August meeting with a Food and Drug Administration panel of experts for the osteoporosis drug candidate denosumab. After many quarters of falling anemia drug sales, Wall Street sees blockbuster potential in the new drug, which could reinvigorate revenue growth at the company. The company just struck a sales partnership deal with GlaxoSmithKline covering Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. “We are optimistic about our financial performance in 2009 and are focused on making denosumab a success,” said Chairman and CEO Kevin Sharer, in a statement.
