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LONDON (Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday reported a fall in interim revenue and profit, but held its annual guidance.
Total revenue for the first half of the year fell 1% at actual exchange rates, down 5% at constant currencies, to USD10.33 billion. Product sales rose 2% at actual exchange rates to USD10.02 billion but externalisation revenue - which includes royalties and milestone payments - was down 53% to USD318 million.
Cost of sales rose 16% to USD2.15 billion, with pretax profit falling 27% to USD786 million from USD1.07 billion last year.
Oncology sales grew 42% in the half to USD2.66 billion, with Respiratory up 6% to USD2.40 billion and new Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism up 12% to USD1.87 billion.
Within Oncology, sales of Lynparza more than doubled to USD269 million. The strong performance was geographically spread, Astra said, though it was particularly noticeable in the US.
Astra kept its interim dividend flat at USD0.90 per share, reiterating its annual guidance.
"The performance in the first half demonstrated that we remain firmly on track to return our company to product sales growth in 2018. Our new medicines performed strongly and have established themselves as major drivers of product sales, including Lynparza, Tagrisso and Imfinzi in Oncology, Brilinta and Farxiga in CVRM and Fasenra in Respiratory. Emerging Markets, led by China, delivered double-digit growth," said Chief Executive Pascal Soriot.
"AstraZeneca's rich pipeline and sharp commercial focus make us confident that we have in place the right conditions for our return to growth this year," Soriot added.
