Astrazeneca raises guidance after better-than-expected Q2

- Core EPS and revenue outlook raised- H1 revenue up 3%, Q2 revenue up 4%- Q2 PBT of $1.89bnAstrazeneca has lifted its guidance for the year after delivering a 4% increase in second quarter revenue to $6.4bn, ahead of expectations. Half year turnover at the drugs giant climbed 3%, driven by gains across all five of its growth areas, particularly Diabetes, which jumped 128% following the successful integration of the BMS assets and the launch of Farxiga in the US.For the full year, revenue is expected to be in line with the prior year at constant exchange rates (CER), compared to previous guidance of a low-to-mid single digit percentage decline.Although core earnings per share (EPS) were down 1% for the six-month period, they rose 13% to $1.30 in the second quarter, ahead of consensus expectations of $1.06, and as such the group now expects the decrease for the year to be in the low double digits at CER, an improvement on the previous guidance of a percentage decrease in the teens. Core profit before tax came in at $1.89bn, beating consensus estimates for $1.70bn, but down from the $1.94bn reported last year. The FTSE 100-listed group, which on Wednesday announced that it had struck a deal to acquire the respiratory franchise of drugs maker Almirall, posted EPS of 63 cents and 103 cents for the second quarter and first half, respectively. Chief executive officer Pascal Soriot said the group had made "significant progress" during the first half, with momentum visible across its cardiovascular, diabetes and respiratory franchises as well as strong growth in the emerging markets. "This has driven revenue growth for the second consecutive quarter and achieved a 13% increase in core EPS in the quarter. The pace of execution of our strategy and the underlying performance of our teams give us confidence to raise 2014 guidance for the full year." He added that the board's confidence in the company's longer term prospects was underpinned by the current pipeline and the "quality of transformation we are seeing across all core areas of our business". The group's pipeline includes 114 projects, of which 100 are in the clinical phase of development. During the second quarter, 19 projects were moved on to their next phase, including nine new molecular entities (NMEs) and 10 new molecules that have entered first human testing. Four projects were withdrawn. Panmure Gordon analyst Savvas Neophytou said it made no changes to its forecasts for core EPS, which at $4.69 is already ahead of consensus of $4.36, reiterating a 'hold' recommendation and 4,400p target price. Shares had edged 0.07% higher to 4,360.50p by 08:42NR