29th Jul 2021 09:40
(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday reported that its Covid vaccine generated sales of more than USD1 billion in a strong first half performance.
The vaccine generated sales of USD1.17 billion for the first half ended June 30, with USD894 million of this coming from the second quarter.
The drugmaker added in its interim results statement that it shipped about 319 million doses worldwide during the period, which included USD572 million of sales in Europe and USD455 million in emerging markets.
Overall first half revenue was USD15.54 billion, up 23% from a year before. Pretax profit rose 25% to USD2.37 billion.
Shares in AstraZeneca were trading up 0.3% at 8,294.00 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
Astra declared an unchanged first interim dividend of USD0.90 per shares.
In part due to its acquisition of biotech firm Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc in a cash-and-stock deal worth about USD39 billion last week, Astra upgraded its guidance for revenue to increase by a low-twenties percentage in the full year.
"AstraZeneca has delivered another period of strong growth thanks to robust performances across all regions and disease areas," commented Chief Executive Pascal Soriot.
"As a result, we have delivered further earnings progression, supported ongoing launches, and continued our investment in R&D.
"We continue to advance our portfolio of life-changing medicines with further significant progress across disease areas," he added.
By Will Paige; [email protected]
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