Earnings exceeded expectations and guidance was raised, but AstraZeneca's pre-market stock price fell.
On July 25th before the market opened (local time), $Sanofi(SNY.US) , $Roche(RHHBY.US) , $AstraZeneca(AZN.US) and other pharmaceutical giants successively announced their latest financial results.
Among them, AstraZeneca's financial report for the first half of 2024 and the second quarter showed that several indicators exceeded market expectations.
However, AstraZeneca's stock price fell instead of rising before the market opened, currently down more than 3%.
It should be noted that in recent years, AstraZeneca's stock price has shown a continuous upward trend overall, and it is not far from its peak.
Second-quarter results exceeded expectations
In the second quarter of 2024, AstraZeneca's revenue was $12.938 billion, an actual increase of 13%, and a 17% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates, exceeding market expectations; core earnings per share were $1.98, a 3% year-on-year decline at constant exchange rates, slightly above market expectations.
Among them, product sales revenue reached $12.452 billion, an actual increase of 14%, and an 18% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates, exceeding market expectations.
By therapeutic area, Oncology revenue reached $5.331 billion, an actual year-on-year increase of 15%, and a 19% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates. Among them, benefiting from strong demand, the revenue from the lung cancer targeted drug Tagrisso increased by 8% year-on-year, and by 12% at constant exchange rates; the revenue from the blood cancer drug Calquence increased by 21% year-on-year in actual terms, and by 22% at constant exchange rates; the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Enhertu, jointly developed with Daiichi Sankyo, performed even more strongly, with actual year-on-year growth of 46%, and 49% at constant exchange rates.
Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism (CVRM) revenue in the second quarter was $3.160 billion, an actual increase of 18%, and a 22% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates. Among them, Farxiga drug revenue increased by 29% year-on-year in actual terms, and by 32% at constant exchange rates; Lokelma drug revenue increased by 36% in actual terms, and by 41% at constant exchange rates.
Respiratory & Immunology (R&I) revenue in the second quarter increased by 23% year-on-year in actual terms to $1.905 billion, and by 26% at constant exchange rates, with Breztri, Saphnelo, Tezspire, and Symbicort drugs all showing impressive revenue growth.
Rare disease revenue was $2.147 billion, an actual year-on-year increase of 10%, and a 14% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates.
However, Vaccines & Immune Therapies (V&I) revenue fell by 57% year-on-year in actual terms to $119 million, and by 53% at constant exchange rates, with the sharp decline mainly due to reduced revenue from COVID-19 vaccine collaborations.
It can be seen that in the second quarter of 2024, AstraZeneca achieved good growth in all business areas, except for Vaccines & Immune Therapies (V&I), where revenue declined, but the impact was limited as this business accounts for a relatively small proportion of total revenue.
Upgraded full-year performance guidance
Combined with the first-quarter results, in the first half of the year, AstraZeneca's revenue increased by 18% year-on-year to $25.617 billion, mainly driven by growth in product sales revenue.
By therapeutic area, in the first half of the year, the core Oncology revenue was $10.440 billion, an actual increase of 19%, and a 22% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates, stronger than the year-on-year growth rate in the second quarter.
In addition, Cardiovascular and Metabolism revenue was $6.220 billion, an actual increase of 19%, and a 22% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates; Respiratory & Immunology revenue was $3.791 billion, an actual increase of 19%, and a 22% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates; Rare disease revenue was $4.243 billion, an actual year-on-year increase of 11%, and a 15% year-on-year increase at constant exchange rates.
Additionally, core earnings per share (EPS) increased by 5% year-on-year to $4.03. It is reported that the growth rate of core EPS was lower than that of revenue mainly due to some gains recognized in the same period last year.
It is worth mentioning that AstraZeneca increased its interim dividend by 7 cents to $1.
AstraZeneca's CEO also stated that based on the strong growth in the first half of the year and the sustained intrinsic demand for the company's drugs, they are upgrading the guidance for total revenue and core earnings per share (EPS) for the 2024 fiscal year. Among them, total revenue is expected to grow at a mid-teens percentage (previously expected to be low-to-mid teens); core EPS is expected to grow at a mid-teens percentage (previous expectations were the same as for total revenue).
Author: Yun Zhi Feng Qi
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