AstraZeneca Q1 earnings down 12%; maintains FY view
pharmafile | April 29, 2016 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Q!, earnings, outlook, profits, q, results
UK drugmaker AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) on Friday reported a 12% drop in first-quarter earnings and said it plans to streamline operations to reduce costs.
The company reported earnings per share excluding one-time items of 95 cents against $1.08 a year ago. The pharma firm sees a one-time charge of $1.5 billion from restructuring in 2016.
Total revenue rose 5% to $6.12 billion, the company said in a statement. Pretax profit stood at $1.1.43 billion, down 10% versus $1.68 billion a year earlier.
AstraZeneca reported a 24% drop in sales of its ulcer therapy Nexium to $463 million, on the back of generic launches in the US and Europe. Revenue from Symbicort was down 7% to $749 million.
Sales of cholesterol drug Crestor rose 2% to $1.16 billion year on year.
Outlook maintained
For the full year 2016, the company maintains the total revenue outlook of low to mid single-digit percentage decline on the back of impact from the deals with Acerta Pharma and ZS Pharma. Core earnings per share are expected to drop by mid single-digit percentage decline.
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, said: “Looking ahead, we anticipate increased newsflow across the pipeline, including a number of regulatory decisions and data readouts, particularly in Oncology.”
AstraZeneca expects annual savings of $1.1 billion, mainly in sales, general and administrative expenses, via its cost-cutting plan. The company sees a total restructuring charge of $2.4 billion at end 2017.
In February, the company warned profits could be hurt as patents for some of its products expire. Blockbuster drug Crestor is set to go off patent this year.
Anjali Shukla
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