The Dividend Daily

After the bell on Wednesday pharmaceutical company Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) posted a drop in fourth quarter profits due to higher costs. The earnings results were a bit lower than Wall Street predictions.

The Thousand Oaks, California-based company reported a fourth quarter profit of $788 million, or $1.01 per share, down -16% from $934 million, or $1.08 per share, earned a year earlier.

Adjusting for one-time items, fourth quarter EPS was $1.40. This was slightly lower than analysts’ forecast of $1.44, according to FactSet.

The drug maker saw its revenue rise +11% to $4.42 billion in the fourth quarter. This beat consensus views as analysts expected revenue to come in at $4.37 billion.

Amgen said that the reasons for such a steep drop in profit despite increased revenue were a number of higher expenses related to research and development, marketing, and production.

For the full year of 2012, net income rose to $4.35 billion, or $5.52 per share, up from $3.68 billion, or $4.04 per share, earned in 2011. Revenue was up +11% in 2012 to $17.27 billion from $15.58 billion.

Looking forward, the company expected 2013 earnings to be about $6.85 to $7.15 per share. Analysts are predicted a 2013 EPS of $7.

Amgen shares were up slightly during pre-market trading on Thursday. The stock is up +19.4% over the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Amgen (AMGN) have a 2.26% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $83.07. The stock has technical support in the $76-$80 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $88-$90 price levels.

Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.