Celgene Posts Higher Q1 Earnings, But Sales Miss Expectations

reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but the company's sales missed analysts' estimates. The Summit, New Jersey-based company reported a quarterly profit of $718.9 million, or $0.86 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $279.7 million, or $0.33 per share. Excluding items, the company's earnings climbed to $1.07 per share from $0.83 per share. Its revenue surged 20 percent to $2.08 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $1.06 per share on revenue of $2.11 billion. The average estimate among 43 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.08 per share and revenue of $2.13 billion. Sales of its drug Revlimid gained 17.4 percent to $1.34 billion in the quarter. U.S. sales climbed 26 percent to $811 million, while international sales surged 6 percent to $532 million. Adjusted R&D expenses increased to $431 million for the first quarter, up from $358 million in the year-ago quarter. During the first quarter, the company purchased around 9.5 million of its shares at a total cost of around $1,132 million. The company ended the quarter with $7,314 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. "Our first quarter results reflect the strength of our product portfolio and we expect the multiple global regulatory approvals achieved during the quarter to drive near term growth," said Bob Hugin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Celgene Corporation. "Our continued investments in our franchises, innovative therapies and technologies position us for sustained growth beyond 2020." The company also affirmed its guidance for 2015. Celgene shares slipped 3.87 percent to $108.82 at 10:15 a.m. ET.