AstraZeneca today announced plans to achieve “modest profitability” on new orders of its Covid-19 vaccine, having so far delivered 1.5 billion doses at cost price.
The update came as Astra reported third quarter sales ahead of expectations, although shares fell 5% after the earnings figure came in short of hopes and chief executive Pascal Soriot left the pharmaceutical giant's full-year guidance unchanged.
Meanwhile, record sales figures from China's version of Black Friday, known as Singles Day, offered some encouragement to Asia markets overnight. The momentum failed to benefit the FTSE 100 index, which fell back from its 20-month high near 7400.
