Amgen announces 29% increase in earnings per share and stock split

Business Wire, July 20, 1995

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1995--Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Thursday announced that its earnings per share for the second quarter ending June 30 increased by 29 percent to 99 cents from 77 cents for the same quarter last year.

Net income was up 28 percent to $138 million from $107 million, while revenues increased 19 percent to $494 million from $415 million.

For the six-month period ending June 30, earnings per share increased by 23 percent to $1.76 from $1.43 for the same period a year ago. Net income increased by 23 percent to $246 million from $201 million, and revenues increased by 20 percent to $933 million from $779 million.

During the quarter, Amgen increased its investment in research and development by 35 percent, to $108 million from $80 million for the same quarter a year ago. R&D investment now represents 23 percent of product sales.

For the second quarter, sales of EPOGEN (R) (Epoetin alfa) increased 22 percent to $216 million from $177 million for the same quarter a year ago. Worldwide sales of NEUPOGEN (R) (Filgrastim) increased 16 percent to $247 million from $212 million.

U.S. NEUPOGEN sales were up 11 percent to $176 million from $158 million, while international NEUPOGEN sales increased by 33 percent to $71 million from $54 million.

"By any measure -- financial, research or development achievements -- this was a superb quarter for Amgen," said Gordon Binder, chairman and chief executive officer. "Once again, strong growth in sales of our two breakthrough drugs, coupled with tight expense management, produced solid earnings growth."

Stock Split Announced

Amgen also announced a two-for-one split of the company's common stock in the form of a 100 percent stock dividend. The dividend will be distributed on Aug. 15, 1995 to stockholders of record on Aug. 1, 1995.

Product Development

Several significant research and development events also occurred during the quarter. These include a preliminary analysis of results of a Phase III clinical trial of Amgen's interferon, Infergen (R), which confirmed that Infergen is safe and effective in treating chronic hepatitis C.

Before deciding on a filing for regulatory approvals, Amgen will continue with the ongoing clinical trial extensions to better assess Infergen's role in patient treatment. Data from these trials should help to determine the optimum patient treatment regimen, better assess the differences between Infergen and competitive products and determine Infergen's potential competitive position in the marketplace.

Also during the quarter, Amgen initiated human clinical trials of its Megakaryocyte Growth and Development Factor (MGDF).

In addition, Amgen and Regeneron announced their intention to start a Phase III clinical trial of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) during the third quarter, following a preliminary analysis of Phase I/II data showing that BDNF appears to be safe and well tolerated in treating people with ALS.

Also during the quarter, Amgen announced that George A. Vandeman has joined Amgen from Latham & Watkins as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, and that Stanley M. Benson has joined the company from Pfizer as senior vice president, sales and marketing.

Amgen is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human therapeutics based on advanced cellular and molecular biology. -0-

                              AMGEN INC.
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