It's earning season, and the quarterly numbers are rolling in. Our big-cap biotech holding Amgen was out with results just after 22h00 SAST last night. They were excellent, with reported profits of $4.37 per share, well ahead of expectations at $3.80 per share.
Revenues were bang in line at $6.4 billion. Interestingly, that number was 12% higher than the same quarter back in 2019, demonstrating that people still need to take their meds, regardless of a global pandemic.
Enbrel (for the treatment of chronic arthritis) remains a top seller, as does Prolia (for osteoporosis) - those two alone account for a third of total sales.
New products grew by 18% including Otezla (for the treatment of psoriasis), Mvasi (biosimilar for cancer), Kanjinti (for breast cancer) and Repatha (lowers cholesterol).
Their drug pipeline is also very promising. The outlook for the full year was lifted slightly and the quarterly dividend maintained at $1.60 per share.
We back Amgen to go from strength to strength in the years ahead. They are benefiting from an older, richer global customer base, most of whom have health insurance. We like the fact that the company is very big and stable, with a wide array of products, and is thus less risky. A good buy at current levels.
Amgen stock moved higher after their numbers hit the wires. If you are interested, you can dive into the detail here: Amgen Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results.