AstraZeneca generated $275m in revenue from its non-profit Covid-19 vaccine in the first quarter, while sales of cancer drugs and growth in emerging markets helped the drugmaker beat earnings and sales expectations.
The pharmaceutical company confirmed its full-year forecasts of revenue increasing by a low-teens percentage, with core earnings per share rising faster, to between $4.75 and $5.
Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, said the strong performance was despite the pandemic delaying the diagnosis and treatment of many conditions.
“We delivered solid progress in the first quarter of 2021 and continued to advance our portfolio of life-changing medicines,” he said. “We expect the impact of Covid to reduce and anticipate a performance acceleration in the second half of 2021.”
AstraZeneca reported revenue of $7.3bn, excluding the contribution from the vaccine it developed with the University of Oxford, up 15 per cent year-on-year and higher than the consensus forecast for $7bn.
Oncology sales increased by 20 per cent from the same period the year before, while revenue from emerging markets was up 14 per cent, with a 19 per cent increase in China.
Core earnings per share soared 55 per cent to $1.63, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.48.