By Cecilia Butini
AstraZeneca PLC reported first-quarter results on Thursday. Here is what we watched.
REVENUE: Revenue declined to $10.88 billion from $11.39 billion in the same quarter of 2022, due to a decline of $1.46 billion in sales of Covid-19 medicines. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $10.60 billion in the quarter.
NET INCOME: Net income also beat expectations and came in at $1.80 billion from $388 million the year prior, and against a consensus expectation of $1.52 billion.
WHAT WE WATCHED:
–GUIDANCE AND COVID-19: The company backed its guidance for the year, and confirmed that it continues to expect revenue from Covid-19 medicines, including its vaccine, to decline significantly in 2023. Analysts at UBS said in a note that AstraZeneca’s first-quarter revenue absorbed $1.5 billion Covid-19 base effect from last year, which overall makes for a good result.
–KEY DRUGS: Strong products included asthma and pulmonary medication Symbicort and cancer drugs Imfinzi and Tagrisso. The latter beat expectations due to higher prices, while Imfinzi’s strength was driven by its use expansion and new patients starting on it, Citi analyst Andrew Baum said in a note.
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