Amgen Inc.'s earnings have slowed down for the third quarter of1993, with earnings per share coming in at only a penny more thanfor the second quarter.

Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $102.7 million, or 72cents per share, on a primary basis. This compares with second-quarter 1993 net income of $100.2 million, or 70 cents per share.

However, both quarters' earnings include one-time benefits toaccommodate changes in the tax laws. When those benefits areexcluded from the calculation, Amgen's actual net income works outto be $93.1 million, or 65 cents per share, for the third quarter and$91.6 million, or 64 cents per share, for the second quarter.

Still, it's slightly better than "The Street" estimates of 61 to 62 cents,said Kimberly Dorsey, Amgen's manager of corporatecommunications.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif., company's earnings may appear to bedropping off, but Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has still generatedrevenues of $1 billion for the first nine months of 1993, with a netincome of $292.2 million. For the comparable period a year ago, netincome was $223.8 million.

Sales of Epogen (recombinant erythropoietin) so far this year havebeen $426.5 million (in the U.S. and China); in the third quarteralone, the product brought in $149.5 million, a 9.2 percent increaseover the same period last year. This is a slight increase from its salesin the second quarter of 1993, which were $141 million.

And 1993 worldwide sales of Neupogen (recombinant granulocytecolony stimulating factor) have been $532.5 million. The thirdquarter brought in $186.2 million, an increase of 29.2 percent overthe same period last year, but essentially the same as the secondquarter of 1993, when worldwide sales were $187.8 million.

Amgen's stock gained 50 cents a share on Thursday, closing at $44.

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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