AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) Raises Full Year Forecast After Robust Results

AstraZeneca, the UK’s second-largest drugmaker, raised its earnings and sales forecast for the full year as demand for its new heart drug Brilinta and the ageing antacid Nexium beat estimates last quarter.

The group also upgraded its core earnings per share guidance for the year, a closely-watched gauge of the company’s performance.

“This will be a pivotal year in our strategic journey as we face the impact of loss of exclusivity to Crestor in the U.S.”, said chief executive Pascal Soriot.

But Soriot struck a positive note, saying its growth drugs and upcoming product launches would combine with cost-cutting to help the group overcome short-term hurdles. Comprehensive profit for the quarter climbed to $770 million from $253 million a year ago. Analysts had expected core operating profit of $1.66 billion.

Core earnings per share (EPS), which strips out exceptional items, fell 2pc to $1.03, beating predictions of $1.01 per share result. Wall Street was looking for $5.97 billion.

Product sales were lower across the board in the first nine months on a reported basis, however, though broadly rose in constant currencies. China sales increased by 17 percent.

AstraZeneca will likely submit durvalumab to USA regulators in the first half of next year. The company said core earnings a share would increase by a mid-to-high single digit percentage, at constant exchange rates, an improvement from earlier guidance of a low single-digit percentage increase versus past year. That decline had itself been an upgrade issued at the company’s interim results in July, after it had previously guided to a mid-single-digit percentage decline.

Revenue fell 10% to $5.95 billion, but that wasn’t as steep a drop as analysts had expected.

Total revenue is stable so far this year at $18,309 million – and the company said it now expected 2015 revenue to match last year’s after previously predicting that revenues would fall.

As of 08:40 GMT, AstraZeneca’s share price had added 3.09 percent to 4,255.00p, outperforming the blue-chip FTSE 100 index which has slipped into the red.

Astra also benefited from the proceeds of asset disposals, having sold the rights to gastroenterology drug Entocort and cancer medicine Caprelsa for $215 million and $165 million respectively.