THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2016. Key results include:

• Total revenues increased 10 percent versus the first quarter of 2015 to $5,527 million, with 7 percent product sales growth driven by Enbrel^® (etanercept), Prolia^® (denosumab), Aranesp^® (darbepoetin alfa), Neulasta^® (pegfilgrastim), Kyprolis^® (carfilzomib) and XGEVA^® (denosumab).
• Adjusted EPS grew 17 percent versus the first quarter of 2015 to $2.90 driven by higher revenues and higher operating margins.
• Adjusted operating income increased 17 percent to $2,859 million and adjusted operating margin improved by 4.4 percentage points to 54.6 percent.
• GAAP EPS were $2.50 compared to $2.11 and GAAP operating income was $2,402 million compared to $2,022 million.
• Free cash flow was $1.8 billion compared to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2015 driven by higher revenues and higher operating income.

"We are off to a strong start in 2016 delivering results for the year and laying groundwork for our long-term growth with innovative new product launches globally," said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer.

Product Sales Performance

• Total product sales increased 7 percent for the first quarter of 2016 versus the first quarter of 2015. The increase was driven by ENBREL, Prolia, Aranesp, Neulasta, Kyprolis and XGEVA.
• ENBREL sales increased 24 percent driven by net selling price and declining inventory levels in the prior year period, offset partially by the impact of competition.
• Neulasta sales increased 4 percent driven by both higher unit demand and net selling price in the United States (U.S.).
• Aranesp sales increased 11 percent. Unit demand grew due to a shift by some U.S. dialysis customers from EPOGEN^® (epoetin alfa) to Aranesp. Unit demand growth was offset partially by unfavorable changes in net selling price.
• XGEVA sales increased 11 percent driven by higher unit demand.
• Sensipar/Mimpara^® (cinacalcet) sales increased 10 percent driven by net selling price and higher unit demand, offset partially by unfavorable changes in inventory levels.
• Prolia sales increased 29 percent driven by higher unit demand.
• EPOGEN sales decreased 44 percent driven by the impact of competition and, to a lesser extent, a shift by some U.S. dialysis customers to Aranesp.
• NEUPOGEN^® (filgrastim) sales decreased 13 percent driven by the impact of competition in the U.S.
• Kyprolis sales increased 43 percent driven by higher unit demand.
• Vectibix^® (panitumumab) sales increased 18 percent driven by higher unit demand.
• Nplate^® (romiplostim) sales increased 12 percent driven by higher unit demand.
• BLINCYTO^® (blinatumomab) sales increased 80 percent driven by higher unit demand.

Operating Expense, Operating Margin and Tax Rate Analysis, on an Adjusted Basis

• Cost of Sales margin improved by 1.6 percentage points driven by manufacturing efficiencies, higher net selling price and lower royalties.
• Research & Development (R&D) expenses were flat.
• Selling, General & Administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 11 percent driven by investments in new product launches.
• Operating Expenses increased 3 percent, with all expense categories reflecting savings from our transformation and process improvement efforts.
• Operating Margin improved by 4.4 percentage points to 54.6 percent.
• Tax Rate increased 1.9 percentage points due to changes in the geographic mix of earnings and the prior year benefit of a state tax audit settlement, offset partially by the benefit in the first quarter of 2016 of adopting the new Accounting Standard Update 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet

• The Company generated $1.8 billion of free cash flow in the first quarter of 2016 versus $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2015 driven by higher revenues and higher operating income.
• The Company's second quarter 2016 dividend of $1.00 per share declared on March 2, 2016, will be paid on June 8, 2016, to all stockholders of record as of May 17, 2016.
• During the first quarter, the Company repurchased 4.7 million shares of common stock at a total cost of $690 million. At the end of the first quarter, the Company had $4.2 billion remaining under its stock repurchase authorization.

2016 Guidance
For the full year 2016, the Company now expects:

• Total revenues in the range of $22.2 billion to $22.6 billion and adjusted EPS in the range of $10.85 to $11.20. Previously, the Company expected total revenues in the range of $22.0 billion to $22.5 billion and adjusted EPS in the range of $10.60 to $11.00.
• Adjusted tax rate in the range of 19 percent to 20 percent.
• Capital expenditures to be approximately $700 million.

The Company provided the following updates on selected product and pipeline programs:

Repatha 

• In February, a Phase 3 study evaluating Repatha in patients with high cholesterol who cannot tolerate statins met the co-primary endpoints: the mean percent reductions from baseline in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) at weeks 22 and 24, and the percent reduction from baseline in LDL-C at week 24.

BLINCYTO

• In March, a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of pediatric and adolescent patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
• In February, a Phase 3 open-label study evaluating the efficacy of BLINCYTO versus standard of care in adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor ALL met the primary endpoint of improved overall survival at a prespecified interim analysis.

IMLYGIC^™ (talimogene laherparepvec)

• In February, enrollment initiated for a Phase 3 study evaluating IMLYGIC in combination with KEYTRUDA^® (pembrolizumab) in patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma.

XGEVA

• In March, enrollment completed for a Phase 3 event-driven study evaluating XGEVA compared with zoledronic acid for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.  Data from the study are expected in H2 2016.

ENBREL

• In March, an sBLA for the treatment of pediatric patients with chronic severe plaque psoriasis was accepted for review by FDA.

Romosozumab

• In March, a Phase 3 study evaluating romosozumab in men with osteoporosis met the primary endpoint by increasing bone mineral density at the lumbar spine at 12 months.
• In February, a Phase 3 study evaluating romosozumab in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis met the co-primary endpoints by reducing the incidence of new vertebral fracture through months 12 and 24. The study also met a secondary endpoint by reducing the incidence of clinical fractures through 12 months.

AMG 334

• Data from a Phase 2b study in patients with chronic migraine are expected mid-year 2016.
• Data from two Phase 3 studies in patients with episodic migraine are expected in H2 2016.

Romosozumab is developed in collaboration with UCB globally, as well as Astellas in Japan
AMG 334 is developed in collaboration with Novartis
KEYTRUDA^® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this news release, management has presented its operating results for the first quarters of 2016 and 2015 in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and on an adjusted (or non-GAAP) basis. In addition, management has presented its full year 2016 EPS and tax rate guidance in accordance with GAAP and on an adjusted (or non-GAAP) basis. These non-GAAP financial measures are computed by excluding certain items related to acquisitions, restructuring and certain other items from the related GAAP financial measures. Management has also presented Free Cash Flow (FCF), which is a non-GAAP financial measure, for the first quarters of 2016 and 2015. FCF is computed by subtracting capital expenditures from operating cash flow, each as determined in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations for these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the news release.

The Company believes that its presentation of non-GAAP financial measures provides useful supplementary information to and facilitates additional analysis by investors. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to enhance an investor's overall understanding of the financial performance and prospects for the future of the Company's core business activities by facilitating comparisons of results of core business operations among current, past and future periods. In addition, the Company believes that excluding the non-cash amortization of intangible assets, including developed product technology rights, acquired in business combinations treats those assets as if the Company had developed them internally in the past, and thus provides a supplemental measure of profitability in which the Company's acquired intellectual property is treated in a comparable manner to its internally developed intellectual property. The Company believes that FCF provides a further measure of the Company's liquidity.

The Company uses the non-GAAP financial measures set forth in the news release in connection with its own budgeting and financial planning. The non-GAAP financial measures are in addition to, not a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.

Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential. 

For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Our results may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in manufacturing our products and global economic conditions. In addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. If we fail to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities and also depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Discovery or identification of new product candidates cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to acquire other companies or products and to integrate the operations of companies we have acquired may not be successful. We may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems, infrastructure and data security. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock.

CONTACT:  Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Trish Hawkins, 805-447-5631 (media)
Arvind Sood, 805-447-1060 (investors)

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