AstraZeneca: product sales turning the corner, company says
(CercleFinance.com) - AstraZeneca's revenues improved over the course of 2017, a sign that the company is "turning a corner," the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said on Friday.
Total revenue declined by 2% last year, in line with the group's guidance, but product sales in the fourth quarter jumped 4% to 5.77 billion dollars, generating "core" earnings - which exclude certain items - up 7% at 1.30 dollar a share.
AstraZeneca also said it was positioned for product sales growth from 2018.
For the full year, the biopharmaceutical group expects low single-digit growth in its product sales and core EPS of between 3.30 dollars and 3.50 dollars.
However, analysts deemed the guidance to be cautious and may be leading to estimates cuts.
"The guidance is disappointing since consensus is already at the upper-end of the range," one analyst noticed.
The share price seemed to reflect this: at 9.20 this morning, AstraZeneca shares were down 1.9% at 4,795 pence.
Copyright (c) 2018 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
Total revenue declined by 2% last year, in line with the group's guidance, but product sales in the fourth quarter jumped 4% to 5.77 billion dollars, generating "core" earnings - which exclude certain items - up 7% at 1.30 dollar a share.
AstraZeneca also said it was positioned for product sales growth from 2018.
For the full year, the biopharmaceutical group expects low single-digit growth in its product sales and core EPS of between 3.30 dollars and 3.50 dollars.
However, analysts deemed the guidance to be cautious and may be leading to estimates cuts.
"The guidance is disappointing since consensus is already at the upper-end of the range," one analyst noticed.
The share price seemed to reflect this: at 9.20 this morning, AstraZeneca shares were down 1.9% at 4,795 pence.
Copyright (c) 2018 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.