Amgen’s Profit Leaps 33% Before Merger-Related Expenses

Strong sales of its cancer and kidney drugs helped Amgen Corp. on Wednesday report a 33% jump in profit in the fourth quarter.

The profit from operations does not reflect $116 million in costs related to the biotechnology firm’s acquisition of Synergen Inc. That write-off depressed net income 95% to $4.8 million, or 3 cents a share, from $91.1 million, or 64 cents a share, in the final three months of 1993.

Without the merger-related expenses, net income would have been $121 million, or 87 cents a share, in the final 1994 quarter.

Analysts were looking for earnings from operations of around 85 cents a share, according to First Call Inc., which tracks analyst estimates.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $442.9 million, up 21% from $365.6 million a year earlier.

For all of 1994, the Thousand Oaks firm’s net income was $319.7 million, or $2.29 a share, compared to $374.6 million, or $2.67 a share in 1993. Without the merger-related expenses, earnings for 1994 would have been $436 million, or $3.12 a share. Revenue was $1.65 billion, up from $1.37 billion in 1993.