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* Q1 total sales $7.32 bln, core EPS $1.63 beat forecasts
* CEO anticipates performance acceleration in H2
* Maintains 2021 outlook; vaccine, Alexion impact excluded
* Says ramping up vaccine supplies
* Shares jump 4% after results beat forecasts
(Adds CEO, analyst quotes, updates shares)
By Pushkala Aripaka and Ludwig Burger
April 30 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
delivered $275 million in first-quarter sales while shaving
three cents per share from earnings, the drugmaker said on
Friday as it posted better-than-expected results and forecast
second half growth.
This is the first time the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has given
financial details of the distribution and sales of the vaccine,
which it developed with Oxford University. It has said it will
not make a profit from the shot during the pandemic.
The vaccine revenue included delivery of about 68 million
doses, AstraZeneca said, adding that sales in Europe,
where it faces a legal case, were $224 million, in emerging
markets $43 million and $8 million in the rest of the world.
Sales of $275 million for 68 million doses equates to a
price tag of around $4 per shot.
AstraZeneca was one of the leaders in the global race to
develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Its cheap and easily transportable
shot was hailed as a milestone in the fight against the crisis,
but has since faced a series of setbacks.
"Shipments (of COVID-19 vaccines) are increasing as
manufacturing improves," Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said
during a results briefing, adding that it was on track to
deliver 200 million doses a month from April.
AstraZeneca shares were up 4% to 7,705 pence at 0845 GMT,
putting them on track for their best day since October. The
stock, which hit record highs in July 2020 due to optimism
around the vaccine, ended last year 4% lower.
The results come after a bruising start to the year as the
drugmaker struggles with production of its vaccine and faces a
legal battle after cutting deliveries to Europe, while
regulators probe rare blood clots in people who got the shot.
"Despite the intense operational and political challenges
created by AZN’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out, the core business
continues to perform above market expectations in a most
challenging quarter, demonstrating strength across therapeutic
areas and geographies," Citigroup analysts said in a note.
VACCINE RACE
Pfizer, whose COVID-19 vaccine co-developed with
German partner BioNTech is several times more costly
than AstraZeneca's, has forecast $15 billion for its share of
sales, with analysts expecting as much as $18 billion on
average.
BioNTech expects close to 10 billion euros ($12.1 billion)
in revenues from committed vaccine deliveries this year but
raised the prospect of more supply deals.
Moderna in February said it was expecting sales of
$18.4 billion from its own vaccine this year.
Before AstraZeneca's earnings, market researcher GlobalData
said it expected annual sales of $278 million this year and next
for the drugmaker's coronavirus vaccine, branded Vaxzevria.
AstraZeneca said an application for U.S. emergency use had
been delayed. It said in late March that it planned to apply for
U.S. approval in the coming weeks after U.S. trials showed the
vaccine was 76% effective.
"There's a lot more data than just a phase three study and
so we're working as fast as we can to pull it all together and
submit," Soriot said.
RESILIENT
AstraZeneca's core business has proved resilient, with the
drugmaker sticking to its forecast for 2021 on Friday and
predicting better times ahead.
This guidance does not include any impact from sales of the
vaccine and its $39 billion purchase of Alexion, which is
expected to close in the third quarter.
Total revenue of $7.32 billion for the three months to March
exceeded analysts' expectations of $6.94 billion, while core
earnings of $1.63 cents per share beat a consensus of $1.48.
Quarterly sales growth was driven by best-selling lung
cancer drug Tagrisso, up 17% to $1.15 billion, while revenues
from heart and diabetes drug Farxiga jumped to a
better-than-expected $625 million, on new prescriptions for
heart failure.
($1 = 0.8262 euros)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru, Ludwig Burger in
Frankfurt and Alistair Smout in London; Editing by John
Stonestreet, Josephine Mason and Alexander Smith)
