AstraZeneca promotes standalone prospects

AstraZeneca championed its standalone prospects on Thursday by raising full-year revenue and earnings guidance even as it stepped up investment in developing the new products it hopes will revive long-term growth.

Pascal Soriot, chief executive, said the company had made "important progress" in its recovery from a long period of declining revenue as he unveiled a third consecutive quarter of increased sales.

Mr Soriot is under pressure from shareholders to show that AstraZeneca is heading back towards sustained growth after the company rejected a £69.4bn takeover offer from Pfizer in May.

Pfizer would be allowed under UK takeover rules to mount a fresh bid from later this month after a six-month cooling-off period. The stock was down 0.1 per cent on Thursday morning at £46.14 - a long way short of Pfizer's £55-per-share offer in May.

In the third quarter, AstraZeneca's revenues rose by a better than expected 5 per cent to $6.54bn, excluding some exceptional items and adjusted for currency fluctuations. On the same basis, core earnings per share were $1.05, down 8 per cent from last year but in line with the market's consensus forecast.

The company said full-year revenue was now expected to increase in low single-digits, compared with previous guidance for sales to be in line with 2013.

The improved outlook was due in large part to the delayed arrival of generic competition for AstraZeneca's Nexium heart burn pill.

But Mr Soriot said it also reflected strong performance in growth areas such as treatments for diabetes, which more than doubled in sales in the third quarter, and emerging markets - especially China, where revenues rose 22 per cent.

Other highlights included a near-80 per cent rise in revenues from the Brilinta heart drug for which AstraZeneca has big ambitions and a 26 per cent leap in US sales of the Symbicort respiratory medicine, which has been winning market share from UK rival GlaxoSmithKline.

Mr Soriot said the company would use the improved revenue outlook to support investment in new products - including 14 in late-stage development - as it chases a target set during the takeover battle with Pfizer to increase revenues by three-quarters in the next decade.

Core earnings per share were forecast to decline around 10 per cent over the full year on a currency adjusted basis, an improvement from previous guidance.

Ακολουθήστε το Euro2day.gr στο Google News!Παρακολουθήστε τις εξελίξεις με την υπογραφη εγκυρότητας του Euro2day.gr

FOLLOW USΑκολουθήστε τη σελίδα του Euro2day.gr στο Linkedin

AstraZeneca has more challenges ahead with looming patent expiries on Nexium as well as its Crestor cholesterol treatment. But the company said earnings in 2015 were expected to be no less than the lower end of the upgraded guidance for this year.

Pre-tax profit in the third quarter was $1.65bn, excluding various restructuring and acquisition-related costs, compared with $1.9bn last year.

© The Financial Times Limited 2014. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation