AstraZeneca holds guidance as Covid vaccine turns profitable

AstraZeneca on Friday reported $1.05bn in third-quarter Covid vaccine sales as the not-for-profit drug added 1% to earnings in the period, while the company reiterated annual forecasts for 2021.

The company said it was now expecting to progressively transition the vaccine to “modest profitability” as new orders are received.

Vaccine sales in the final quarter were expected to be a blend of original pandemic agreements and new orders, with the large majority coming from pandemic agreements.

Third-quarter revenue rose 50% to $9.8bn and by 32% to $25.4bn for the year to date. Core earnings per share rose 14% to $1.08.

Earlier this week the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it would set up a vaccines unit as it made plans for the future of its coronavirus shot beyond the pandemic. The company said the reorganisation would be dedicated to the Covid-19 vaccine and tweaked versions to deal with new variants of Sars-CoV-2.

AstraZeneca said it would include the revenue and profit of sales of the pandemic vaccine in its future financial guidance, adding that the contribution would offset costs relating to its long-acting antibody combination AZD7442.

“In general, AstraZeneca continues to recognise the heightened risks and uncertainties from the effects of Covid-19,” the company said. “Variations in performance between quarters can be expected to continue.”