AZN AstraZeneca PLC

By Carlo Martuscelli

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) on Friday reported a 74% rise in first-quarter net profit and backed its full-year guidance.

The company made a net profit of $593 million, up from $340 million in the first quarter of 2018. Revenue increased to $5.49 billion from $5.18 billion.

Core earnings per share, a closely-watched company measure that strips out exceptional items, rose 85% to 89 cents, ahead of analyst expectations of 85 cents.

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said net debt as of March 31 stood at $16.27 billion, up from $15.42 billion the same time in 2018.

Analysts have noted worries about the size of the company's debt pile as well as its ability to continue to finance its dividend with its existing cash flow.

AstraZeneca reiterated that it expects product sales to grow by a high single-digit percentage this year, and core EPS to be in the range of $3.50 and $3.70.

Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2019 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)

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