Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.AstraZeneca has been able to boast of a strong Q2 performance, with sales for the quarter up 8% to $6.6 billion compared to Q2 2005, and operating profit up 24% to $2.1 billion.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
These results were driven by strong sales of five key growth products, namely Nexium, Seroquel, Crestor, Arimidex, and Symbicort, the combined sales of which grew by 21% in the second quarter, to $3,299 million.
Q2 Nexium sales rose 8% to $1,283 million, Crestor sales were up 51% at $480 million and Symbicort sales reached $308 million, up 25%. Meanwhile, Arimidex sales in the second quarter were $379 million, up 31%, while Seroquel sales were up 28%, to $849 million.
For H1 2006, sales increased 8% on an as reported basis (including a 3 percent adverse impact from currency movements). Sales in the US were up 14%, with sales in other markets up 8%.
Combined sales for the five key growth products were $6,294 million (up 23%) in the first half, on strong performances for Nexium (up 11%), Seroquel (up 29%), Crestor (up 48%), Arimidex (up 34%), and Symbicort (up 24%).
Double-digit sales growth and continued cost discipline resulted in a 28% underlying increase in operating profit. With the divestment gain included, operating profit was up 31%, with a 5.4 percentage point improvement in operating margin (to 32.1 percent of sales) in the first half.
Earnings per share were $1.92, compared with $1.38 last year, an increase of 41%.
The company also said it is on track to meet its financial targets for the full year.