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AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday said it expects another year of strong growth after reporting pretax profit in 2023 more than doubled. The Cambridge, England-based pharmaceutical company said in the fourth quarter ending December, revenue increased to $12.02 billion from $11.21 billion the year before, up 7% on an actual basis, and 8% at constant currency. Pretax profit climbed 15% or 18% at constant currency to $897 million from $778 million the year prior, while reported earnings per share rose 7% to $0.62 from $0.58. Oncology sales rose 23% to $4.50 billion in the quarter with a strong performance across all key medicines and regions. Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism sales increased 18% to $2.70 billion with Farxiga sales up 36%, Lokelma up 38%, roxadustat up 27% while Brilinta declined 5%. For 2023 as a whole, revenue rose 3% to $45.81 billion from $44.35 billion and pretax profit more than doubled to $6.90 billion from $2.50 billion. EPS improved to $3.84 from $2.12. Looking ahead, AstraZeneca expects revenue and core EPS in 2024 to increase by a low double-digit to low teens percentage at constant currency. Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said: ‘We expect another year of strong growth in 2024, driven by continued adoption of our medicines across geographies. Our differentiated and growing portfolio of approved medicines, global reach and rich [research & development] pipeline give us confidence that we will continue to deliver industry-leading growth.’ In 2023, the core operating margin of 32% increased by two percentage points. However, the firm said it fell in the final quarter of the year reflecting higher selling, general and administrative expenses due to increased investment in launches for Airsupra, Wainua and Truqap. A second interim dividend was declared of $1.97 per share, making a total dividend for 2023 of $2.90 per share. AstraZeneca will host an investor day on May 21. Shares in AstraZeneca fell 2.6% to 10,222p per share in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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