According to AstraZeneca, net profit increased by more than 100% in the third quarter.
The pharmaceutical company reported sales of £5.05 billion in the third quarter.
The British company says it is on track to meet its full-year forecast.
In a report on Thursday, AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN) said its net profit for the third quarter of the financial year showed annualised growth of over 100%. However, core profits and revenues were slightly below what analysts had expected. AstraZeneca on Thursday confirmed its guidance for the full fiscal year 2020.
The company’s shares opened on Thursday with a plus of more than 0.5%. At £85.11 per share, AstraZeneca’s share price is now more than 10% higher than the previous year’s price on the stock exchange, after recovering from a low of £62.21 per share in March. Confused about choosing a reliable stockbroker for online trading? Here is a list of the few providers to help you make your choice.
AstraZeneca reports third quarter turnover of £5.05 billion
The pharmaceutical company reported a net profit of £496.97 million in the third quarter, compared to £229.31 million in the same quarter last year. On a per share basis, the British-Swedish multinational’s core profit for the last quarter was 72.09 pence. According to FactSet, AstraZeneca experts had forecast higher earnings per share of 77 pence for the third quarter.
In the previous quarter (Q2), AstraZeneca had reported a net profit of £581.18 million, according to the report released at the end of July.
In terms of revenue, the Cambridge-based company saw year-on-year growth of 2.7% to £5.05 billion. Analysts had expected an even higher turnover of £5.07 billion for AstraZeneca in the last quarter, according to FactSet.
AstraZeneca on Thursday expressed confidence that the company was on track to meet its full-year forecast. The company forecasts annualised growth of approximately 10% in its total revenues for this year. It expects its annual Core Earnings per Share to increase by 15% to 19% year-on-year.
AstraZeneca recognises the uncertainties and risks associated with COVID-19
Nevertheless, AstraZeneca acknowledged the uncertainties and risks associated with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected more than one million people in the UK and caused over 47,000 deaths.
In an announcement last week, the pharmaceutical company announced that it has signed a £306.77 million contract to sell the commercial rights to its medicines Atacand and Atacand Plus in around 70 countries to Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH.
AstraZeneca performed quite well on the stock market last year with an annual profit of more than 25%. At the time of writing this article, the company is valued at £85.81 billion and has a price-earnings ratio of 68.05.
