By Akankshita Mukhopadhyay
(Reuters) - Celgene Corp's quarterly profit and sales topped analysts' estimates on strong demand for its flagship multiple myeloma drug Revlimid, sending its shares up more than 2 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.
Celgene gets more than 60 percent of its revenue from its blockbuster drug Revlimid. Sales of which grew 21 percent to $2.19 billion, slightly ahead of the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion, according to Cowen & Co.
The beat comes at a time when Celgene announced deals to buy Juno Therapeutics Inc and privately held Impact Biomedicines in efforts to reduce reliance on Revlimid by bulking up its cancer pipeline.
Celgene, which had cash and cash equivalents of $12.04 billion as of Dec. 31, said it would buy Juno for $9 billion in cash and Impact for as much as $7 billion, contingent on milestones.
Sales of Celgene's psoriasis drug Otezla came in at $371 million, well above the consensus estimate of $337 million.
"Otezla U.S. strength suggests plenty of room for global growth," Brian Abrahams from RBC Capital Markets wrote in a client note.
Celgene posted a net loss of $81 million, or 10 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from a profit of $429 million, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier.
The U.S. biotechnology company took a $1.21 billion income tax charge in the quarter due to the U.S. tax code overhaul.
Excluding items, the company earned $2 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.97, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 16.9 percent to $3.48 billion, ahead of analysts' estimate of $3.46 billion.
Celgene, which preannounced its 2017 and 2018 unaudited results earlier this month, reiterated its 2018 forecast.
(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)
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