AstraZeneca hikes full-year guidance after strong first half

AstraZeneca revised its full-year 2024 guidance upwards on Thursday, anticipating mid-teens percentage growth in both total revenue and core earnings per share at constant exchange rates.

The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant put the upgrade down to a robust performance in the first half and second quarter of 2024, with total revenue climbing 18% to $25.6bn for the six months ended 30 June.

It said the revenue surge was primarily driven by an 18% increase in product sales and sustained growth in alliance revenue from partnered medications.

Notably, the oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), and respiratory and immunology (R&I) segments each saw a 22% rise in revenue, while the rare disease segment posted a 15% increase.

AstraZeneca reported a core product sales gross margin of 82% and a core operating margin of 33%.

The core tax rate stood at 20%.

Core earnings per share saw a modest 5% increase to $4.03, with the growth rate tempered by significant gains in the previous year, including a $241m gain from the disposal of Pulmicort Flexhaler US rights in the first quarter of 2023 and a $712m gain from updates to Beyfortus contractual arrangements in the second quarter of last year.

In light of the results, the company declared a seven-cent increase in its interim dividend, now at $1.00, or 77.6p.

“Building on our strong growth in the first half of the year and continued underlying demand for our medicines, we are upgrading our full-year 2024 guidance for both total revenue and core earnings per share,” said chief executive officer Pascal Soriot.

“At our investor day in May we set out a new revenue ambition to deliver $80bn of total revenue by 2030.

“This is a clear reflection of the substantial growth potential we see from both our approved medicines and those in our late-stage pipeline.”

Soriot said that already this year AstraZeneca had announced five positive, potentially practice-changing phase three studies that were expected to meaningfully contribute to the firm’s growth.

“In the year to date we have continued to make encouraging progress with several disruptive technologies, including antibody drug conjugates, bispecifics, cell and gene therapies, radio conjugates, and weight management medicines, all of which have the potential to drive our growth beyond 2030.”

At 0805 BST, shares in AstraZeneca were down 0.9% at 12,104p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.