AstraZeneca 4Q Core Operating Profit Tumbled, Expects Growth in 2020
February 14 2020 - 3:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Carlo Martuscelli
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) said Friday that core operating profit
fell in the final quarter of the year, missing analysts'
expectations, and guided for growth in the year ahead.
The FTSE 100-listed drug maker reported that core operating
profit slid 29% to $1.55 billion. Profit missed analysts'
expectations of $1.80 billion for the closely-watched company
metric that strips out one-off items.
Total revenue rose 3.9% to $6.66 billion, also falling short of
analysts' expectations of $6.73 billion at the top line.
The pharmaceutical company guided for total revenue increasing a
high single-digit to a low double-digit percentage in 2020, while
core earnings per share are expected to rise by a mid- to
high-teens percentage, all at constant exchange rates.
AstraZeneca cautioned that its guidance depends on the final
impact of Covid-19, the novel coronavirus first identified in the
Chinese city of Wuhan.
The current outlook is assuming that the epidemic lasts a few
months, but the company said it is closely monitoring the epidemic,
and will provide an update during first-quarter results.
China is a major driver of earnings for the business, with
quarterly revenue climbing 25% in the period to $1.19 billion.
The company declared a dividend of $1.90 a share, bringing the
total dividend at $2.80, unchanged from the year before.
Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 14, 2020 02:48 ET (07:48 GMT)
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