AstraZeneca 1Q Sales, Earnings Boosted by Stockpiling
April 29 2020 - 2:59AM
Dow Jones News
By Adria Calatayud
AstraZeneca PLC said Wednesday that sales and earnings climbed
in the first quarter, becoming the latest major pharmaceutical
company to benefit from medicine stockpiling amid the coronavirus
pandemic.
The pharmaceutical giant said net profit rose to $780 million in
the quarter from $593 million in the same period a year
earlier.
First-quarter sales rose 16% to $6.35 billion in the
year-earlier period, with growth across all therapy areas and
regions. At constant-exchange rates, product sales were 17% higher,
the company said.
AstraZeneca said first-quarter sales benefited from short-term
inventory increases in the distribution channel, longer
prescriptions and improved treatment-regimen adherence by patients
as an indirect result of the pandemic. However, this benefit is
expected to reverse in the coming months, the company said.
AstraZeneca reiterated its previous guidance but said this is
subject to the assumption that the global impact of the pandemic
lasts for several more months and is based on recent trends in the
business. Variations in performance between quarters can be
expected to continue, it said.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2020 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)
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