AstraZeneca Plc share price up, reports better-than-expected Q3 results and boosts annual projection

AstraZeneca Plc reported quarterly results on Thursday and also projected that its 2014 earnings decline will be smaller than initially expected as one of its best-selling drugs, called Nexium, remains largely unaffected by generic competition.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company – Mr. Pascal Soriot said in a statement: “This enhanced execution of our strategy and our sustained performance gives us confidence to increase our revenue and core earnings guidance for the year.” As reported by the Financial Times, Mr. Soriot also said that the company had made “important progress” in its attempt to recover from a long series of revenue declines.

AstraZeneca reported that profit excluding some items over the third quarter of the fiscal year fell by 13% from $2.03 billion, or $1.21 a share, to $1.77 billion, or $1.05 per share. This result managed to surpass analysts forecasts of earnings that amount to $1.04 a share. The companys sales increased by 5% and reached $6.54 billion. In comparison, analysts have projected $6.46 billion.

Apart from revealing its quarterly results, AstraZeneca, which earlier in 2014 fended off a hostile takeover bid of Pfizer Inc., boosted its projections for the second time this year. The U.K.-based company revealed that its revenue is expected to rise by a low single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates. AstraZeneca also projected that its earnings per share excluding some items are to fall by about 10%. The company expects its earnings during the upcoming year to be at least at the low end of its estimates for 2014.

The improved annual projection is believed to be a result of the delayed release of generic competition for the companys heartburn pill called Nexium. Nexium was reported as the best selling drug of the company, along with Crestor. The two drugs together generated about one third of AstraZenecas 2013 revenue, or $9.5 billion. The patent of the anti-reflux pill Nexium expired in May 2014, while the patent for Crestor in the U.S. is to expire in 2016.

AstraZeneca Plc added 0.29% to trade at GBX4 605.00 per share at 8:11 GMT in London, marking a one-year change of +40.72%. The company is valued at GBP 58.44 billion.