AstraZeneca Share Price Edged 3.6% Higher on Nine-Month Results

The AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN) share price edged 3.6% higher after releasing its nine months and the third quarter of its fiscal year. The company reported robust financial performance during the first nine months of the year, reflecting its resilience and growth in the face of various challenges.

The pharmaceutical giant reported that despite a decline of $2,896 million from its COVID-19 medicines, its total revenue reached $33,787 million, marking a 5% increase. When excluding the impact of COVID-19 medicines, both total revenue and product sales experienced substantial growth, increasing by 15%.

The company’s revenue from Oncology medicines grew by an impressive 20%, while CVRM (Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism) recorded a 19% increase. Research and Innovation (R&I) revenue grew by 9%, and Rare Disease revenue increased by 12%.

The gross margin for Core Product Sales reached 82%, representing a two-percentage-point increase. This improvement can be attributed to reduced sales of lower-margin COVID-19 medicines.

AstraZeneca’s Core Operating Margin reached 35%, marking an increase of three percentage points. This includes the previously announced gain of $712 million resulting from an update to the contractual relationships for Beyfortus, which has been recorded in Core Other operating income.

The company’s Core EPS increased significantly by 17%, reaching $5.80. Looking ahead to the full year of 2023, the firm anticipates that its Total Revenue, excluding the impact of COVID-19 medicines, will grow by a low teens percentage at constant exchange rates (CER). 

Additionally, the firm expects Core EPS to increase by a low double-digit to low-teens percentage at CER, underlining its commitment to sustained growth and performance.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “Our company continued its strong growth trajectory in the third quarter with Total Revenue from our non‑COVID-19 medicines up 13% compared to last year. We initiated several Phase III trials of high-potential molecules this quarter, including, for volrustomig, our PD‑1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody. Our portfolio of bispecifics has the potential to replace first-generation checkpoint inhibitors across a range of cancers. We also initiated a fixed-dose combination study of zibotentan with Farxiga, which has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients with kidney disease not well controlled on the current standard of care.”

AstraZeneca share price.

The AstraZeneca share price edged 3.60% higher to trade at 10,590.0p from Wednesday’s closing price of 10,222.0p.