CELG Celgene Corporation

By Anne Steele 

Celgene Corp. again boosted its outlook for the year and reported results that easily topped expectations in the latest quarter as sales of its flagship drug continue to improve.

Shares, which have lost 18% this year, added 3.4% premarket to $101.80.

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 had cut its overall sales target for 2016 and said earnings next year would fall short of expectations.

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 $1.89 billion from the drug in the latest quarter, representing a 30% jump from a year earlier.

For the year, Celgene said Thursday that it expects $7 billion in Revlimid sales this year, up from its $6.8 billion prediction -- a raise offered in July. And for 2017, the company said it expects sales to exceed its previous target of $8 billion.

In all for the September quarter, Celgene reported a profit of $171.4 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with a loss of $34.1 million, or 4 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring-related expenses and other items, per-share profit rose to $1.58 from $1.23. Revenue jumped 28% to $2.98 billion. Analysts predicted $1.48 in adjusted earnings per share on $2.83 billion in sales, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the full year, Celgene now expects to post $5.88 to $5.92 in adjusted earnings per share, up from its most recent guidance of $5.70 to $5.75 a share. The forecast boost follows similar moves in July and April after Celgene sharply cut its view earlier this year.

The company now sees total product revenue this year between of about $11.2 billion, up from its earlier forecast for $11 billion.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2016 09:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024