CELG Celgene Corporation

By Lisa Beilfuss 

Celgene Corp. raised its earnings forecast for the year after sales of its flagship drug unexpectedly picked up.

The Summit, N.J., company relies on its blood-cancer drug Revlimid for most of its revenue. Celgene has said Revlimid sales would slow a bit this year as it faces growing competition, and in April the company cut its overall sales target for 2016 and said earnings next year would fall short of expectations. In order to replace revenue from slowing Revlimid sales, Celgene has worked to expand beyond its roots in the multiple myeloma market, buying autoimmune disease company Receptos last year and launching a Crohn's disease treatment.

For now, though, Revlimid sales aren't meaningfully slowing, in part thanks to a settlement reached late last year that effectively delays the generic threat. The company took in $1.7 billion from the drug in the latest quarter, representing 18% growth from a year earlier. Analysts expected a slightly softer 16% clip. For the year, Celgene said Thursday that it expects $6.8 billion in Revlimid sales this year, up from its $6.7 billion prediction in June.

In all for the June period, Celgene reported a profit of $598.2 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $356.2 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring-related expenses and upfront collaboration costs, among other items, per-share profit rose to $1.44 from $1.23.

Revenue climbed 21% to $2.75 billion. Analysts predicted $1.38 in adjusted earnings per share on $2.70 billion in sales, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the full year, Celgene now expects to post $5.70 to $5.75 in adjusted earnings per share, up from its most recent guidance of $5.60 to $5.70 a share. The forecast boost follows a similar move in April after Celgene sharply cut its view earlier this year. For 2016, analysts project $5.70 in adjusted earnings per share and $11.01 billion in revenue.

The company now sees total product revenue this year between $10.75 billion and $11 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of $11 billion.

Celgene didn't update its 2017 view. In April, the company said it expected to book total product sales of $12.7 billion to $13 billion next year and $6.75 to $7 in adjusted earnings per share.

Shares in the company, down 9.7% this year through Wednesday's close, edged up 1.1% in premarket trading.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2016 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)

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