(Reuters) – AstraZeneca beat first-quarter sales and profit forecasts on Friday on stronger-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine which the pharmaceutical company said is expected to see a sharp decline over the next quarter. ‘year.
The two-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University had quarterly sales reaching $1.15 billion, the majority of which came from initial contracts, and was the top-selling vaccine in 2021, with sales of $3.9 billion.
Quarterly sales exceeded analysts’ expectations of $739 million, according to Credit Suisse.
The Anglo-Swedish group now expects sales of its preventative coronavirus treatment, Evusheld, to rise, but clouded due to growing competition, concerns over its shelf life and general vaccine hesitancy.
Evusheld generated $469 million in revenue this quarter, slightly below expectations of $480 million.
AstraZeneca maintained its full-year sales guidance and reported quarterly revenue of $11.39 billion at constant currency — up 60% — and basic earnings of $1.89 per share, helped by strong sales of treatments for diabetes, heart and kidney failure.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.70 per share on revenue of $10.85 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
AstraZeneca shares, however, fell 1% in early trading as sales of its three main oncology drugs, Tagrisso, Imfinzi and Lynparza, fell short of expectations.
Meanwhile, the company lowered its forecast for China — which accounted for about 1% of total revenue last year — due to the country’s recent lockdowns that may affect second-quarter sales.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Natalie Grover in London; French version Dina Kartit, editing by Kate Entringer)
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