AstraZeneca posts solid 1st-qtr results despite currency and generics hits

Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) this morning reported first-quarter 2015 financials, showing that total revenue (defined as product sales and externalization revenue) grew by 1% at constant exchange rates to $6.06 billion, although down 6% as reported, but beating the forecast of $5.98 billion from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Core net profit fell 7% to $1.37 billion. Core earnings per share (EPS) declined by 3% to $1.08, just ahead of analysts’ consensus expectations of $1.07).Reported operating profit grew by 15% to $933 million. AstraZeneca’s shares dipped 2.3% to £47.03 in early trading.

Commenting on the results, Edison Investment Research analyst Mick Cooper, said: “AstraZeneca delivered solid results in Q1, given the significant impact of currency movements and generic erosion of various legacy products. But the company's value is increasingly in its immuno-oncology pipeline, and this was enhanced further today by the deals with Innate Pharma and Celgene” (see separate story).