AstraZeneca has reported a bounce in annual income boosted by robust gross sales of its most cancers, lung and immunology therapies, per week after it determined to not go forward with a deliberate £450m funding in Merseyside, prompting a sequence of recriminations with the federal government.
Britain’s greatest drugmaker, which can be the biggest listed firm, mentioned revenues rose by 21% to $54.1bn (£43bn) in 2024. Pre-tax revenue jumped by 38% to $8.7bn final yr on a relentless foreign money foundation.
Shares rose 5% after the announcement, serving to raise the FTSE 100 index of the UK’s greatest listed firms previous 8,700 to a brand new intraday excessive.
The outcomes assertion didn’t point out final week’s resolution to tug the plug on the growth of its childhood flu vaccine manufacturing unit at Speke, Liverpool, into a big vaccine hub, after it didn’t agree the quantity of state assist regardless of months of wrangling with authorities.
The earlier Conservative authorities had pledged £90m in grants and different assist, however this was reduce after Labour got here to energy. Chris Bryant, the science minister, advised MPs this week the distinction between the 2 affords was “remarkably small”, including that AstraZeneca’s U-turn was “deeply disappointing”.
On Thursday, AstraZeneca mentioned most cancers and respiratory & immunology therapies had been the fastest-growing areas final yr, with 24% and 25% annual rises in revenues, respectively. The agency forecasts whole gross sales progress will gradual this yr, to a excessive single-digit proportion.
The drugmaker caught to its $80bn income aim by 2031, with late-stage outcomes for seven new medicines anticipated this yr.
The pharmaceutical has additionally been hit by a disaster in China, the place the president of its Chinese language enterprise and different senior executives had been detained over allegations of illegally importing most cancers medicines. The AstraZeneca share worth fell sharply after the information broke in October, lowering the agency’s market worth from a peak of greater than £200bn in mid-August to about £170bn.
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On Thursday, the corporate mentioned the case concerned suspected unpaid importation taxes of $900,000, which might result in a advantageous of between one and 5 occasions that quantity if AstraZeneca was discovered liable.
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