A box of vials containing the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is pictured at Foch Hospital in Suresnes on February 6, 2021, at the start of a vaccination campaign for health professionals with the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine.
Alain Jocard | AFP | Getty Images
AstraZeneca reports a 10% increase in product sales for 2020, a year in which the drug manufacturer has been at the forefront of its work in the development of a coronavirus vaccine, alongside the University of Oxford.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant reported total product sales of $ 25.8 billion for 2020. For the fourth quarter, sales rose 12% to just over $ 7 billion – the first time in “many years” that the company has announced this. rating has exceeded. Total sales were $ 26.6 billion for the year and $ 7.4 billion for the fourth quarter.
The company’s earnings come as the company continues to be in the spotlight for its coronavirus vaccine, on which the UK, EU and others have strong confidence in their efforts to end the public health crisis caused by the pandemic.
AstraZeneca has said it will provide non-profit access to its vaccine for the “duration of the pandemic”, although the timing of this is uncertain. It has also committed to providing the vaccine on a non-profit basis forever to low- and middle-income countries. As such, current revenues did not include sales of the vaccine.
The company’s outlook for the year, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, stated that it expected revenue growth from a “low teenage rate” in 2021, and faster growth in core earnings per share to $ 4.75 to $ 5. , 00.
The guidance does not account for any impact on sales or profits from sales of the Covid-19 vaccine, it said, and the company plans to report these sales separately from the next quarter.
In the results report, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said that last year’s performance “marked a significant step forward for AstraZeneca. Despite the significant impact of the pandemic, we achieved double-digit sales growth.”
“The consistent performance in the pipeline, the accelerating performance of our business and the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine have shown what we can achieve,” he added.
The company said the full-year dividend would remain unchanged at $ 2.80 per share.
Some controversy
The AstraZeneca vaccine, co-developed with the University of Oxford, has been hailed as a game changer, alongside candidates from other pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and BioNTech, and Moderna.
While clinical trials have shown that the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine has lower efficacy than its rivals, the fact that it is cheaper and easier to store and transport has proved a boon to countries like the UK, where it has been rolled out since January. The rapid roll-out of vaccines is seen as critical to reopening economies severely damaged by lockdowns and job losses.
However, the company has faced some controversy over its vaccine.
Some medicines regulators in Europe have said they will not recommend the vaccine for people over 65 – the target age group as the rollout gains momentum – due to an alleged lack of data to demonstrate its efficacy in that age group .
South Africa, meanwhile, has suspended the vaccine, and then gave it up, over concerns that it had limited efficacy against a variant of the virus emerging there.
Nonetheless, independent experts who advised the World Health Organization on immunization on Wednesday have recommended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, even in countries where there are variants.
Earlier in the trial, the results of late-stage clinical trials showing a higher efficacy rate following a dosing error raised eyebrows among experts, as well as questions about the results and the recommended dosing regimen (as most coronavirus vaccines currently being rolled out are a shot with two doses).
AstraZeneca also got into trouble with the EU when it said it would not deliver as many vaccines as expected to the bloc in the spring, blaming teething troubles at its manufacturing facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands.