AstraZeneca ups profit outlook on strong cancer drugs demand

ASTRAZENECA raised its annual earnings forecast on Thursday (Nov 9), helped by strong demand for its cancer drugs. It reported third-quarter profit and revenue just ahead of analyst expectations, even as Covid-19 vaccine sales evaporated.

The London-listed drugmaker now expects core earnings per share to increase by a low double-digit to low-teens percentage for the year, compared with a previous forecast of high single-digit to low double-digit percentage growth.

It also expects total revenue to increase by a mid single-digit percentage, compared with low-to-mid single-digit growth previously.

For the third consecutive quarter, strong sales of AstraZeneca’s blockbuster cancer treatments and healthy demand for its drugs in emerging markets offset the loss of sales of its Covid-19 vaccine and therapy.

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker - one of the strongest performers recently among listed European pharmaceutical companies - reported core profit per share of US$1.73 on revenues of US$11.49 billion for the third quarter.

Analysts on average expected core profit of US$1.69 per share and revenues of US$11.47 billion, according to a company-compiled consensus.

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The results add to a string of strong quarters for Britain’s biggest company by market capitalisation – worth £159 billion (S$264.7 billion) – bolstered by a strong pipeline of drugs.

AstraZeneca said that in the first nine months of this year, nine medicines delivered more than US$1 billion in revenue. REUTERS