Amgen Inc. said late Monday that its fourth quarter earnings rose 1 percent as strong sales of its anti-infection and anti-inflammatory drugs offset continued problems with its flagship anemia franchise.

The company’s quarterly earnings failed to meet analysts’ expectations. However, Amgen’s 2010 forecast exceeded average Wall Street estimates.

After the markets closed, the Thousand Oaks biotech reported net income of $931 million (92 cents per share), compared with $925 million (87 cents) a year earlier. Revenue rose 2 percent to $3.81 billion.

Excluding one-time items, net income was $1.05 per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected per-share profit of $1.13 on revenue of $3.85 billion.

Amgen says worldwide sales of its anemia drug Aranesp fell 8 percent to $648, with U.S. sales down a sharper 20 percent due to safety concerns. Sales of the older anemia drug Epogen, which have been less affected by the safety studies, rose 9 percent to $703 million. The two anemia drugs combined continue to be the company’s largest product group with $1.35 billion in revenue

Sales of anti-infection therapies Neulasta and Neupogen rose a combined 2 percent to $1.2 billion. Sales of the anti-inflammatory drug Epogen were up 9 percent to $703 million.

“We delivered solid performance in 2009 and look forward to growing our top and bottom line meaningfully in 2010,” Chief Executive Kevin Sharer said in a press release.

The company expects revenue between $15.1 billion and $15.5 billion, with adjusted earnings of $5.05 to $5.25 per share. Analysts on average are expecting revenue of $15.31 billion and earnings of $5.13 per share – both figures are at the low end of Amgen’s own estimates.

Amgen also announced that it submitted additional clinical data requested by U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its experimental bone drug, denosumab. It expects to get results of another important trial during the current quarter. The FDA late last year slowed the expected approval timeline for the much anticipated drug to more closely consider safety issues.

Shares earlier closed up 89 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $55.71 on the Nasdaq. They rose a half-percent in after-market trading.