PROFITS are tumbling at AstraZeneca, but the shares enjoyed a bounce today as the City looked on happily at a strong end to the year and some good results from cancer treatments.
The drug giant saw profits slump 14% to £1.6 billion, but a “very strong” final quarter means the company can claim growth has returned.
Shares rose 5%, or 258p, to 5979p. That is, at least, above the 5500p a share offered by America’s Pfizer to take over the company in 2014.
Back then chief executive Pascal Soriot was facing the loss of patent protection on some of Astra’s best-selling drugs and urged by some to sell up. Today he said: “Our new medicines performed particularly well across the therapy areas and the emerging markets business went from strength to strength.”
The cancer arm in particular is on the up, with sales rising 50%. Cancer drugs Tagrisso, Lynparza and Imfinzi have all been a success.
Astra is bullish on the year end, predicting that profits will be up by a “mid-teens percentage”. That does assume that Brexit isn’t a total disaster. Astra says it is well prepared for the fallout.
Soriot added: “Our strategy and plans remain unchanged.”
