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April 30 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Friday its
COVID-19 vaccine contributed $275 million in sales and shaved
off three cents per share from its first-quarter earnings, as
the drugmaker reported better-than-expected results and forecast
sales growth.
This is the first time the drugmaker has given financial
details from the distribution and sales of its vaccine. It has
said it will not make a profit from the shot during the
pandemic.
Vaccine revenue included delivery of about 68 million doses
worldwide, it said. Sales in Europe were $224 million, emerging
market sales were $43 million, and $8 million in the rest of the
world, it said.
Total revenue, which includes payments from collaborations,
rose 11% to $7.32 billion for the three months to March on a
constant-currency basis, while core earnings stood at $1.63
cents per share, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said.
Analysts on average were expecting core earnings of $1.48
per share on sales of $6.94 billion for the first quarter,
according to a company-provided consensus of 18 analysts.
"We expect the impact of COVID to reduce and anticipate a
performance acceleration in the second half of 2021," Chief
Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said in statement.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger
in Frankfurt; editing by John Stonestreet and Josephine Mason)
