AstraZeneca Records Bumper COVID-19 Vaccine Sales Of $4B In FY21

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AstraZeneca Plc's AZN total revenue jumped 63% Y/Y to $12.01 billion in Q4 FY21 on a constant-currency basis, beating the consensus of $10.96 billion.

  • Core earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.67, topping estimates of $0.73.
  • In Q4, sales of the COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, were $1.76 billion, the best-selling product for AstraZeneca, lung cancer drug Tagrisso, racked up $1.3 billion in revenues.
  • The Company posted a Q4 FY21 net loss of $(346) million, despite a 63% jump in net sales. Its gains were wiped out by costs associated with its $39 billion Alexion Pharmaceuticals deal and new drug research.
  • "AstraZeneca continued on its strong growth trajectory in 2021 with ... five of our medicines crossing (the) blockbuster threshold," Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said.
  • Dividend: AstraZeneca also said it would raise its annualized dividend by $0.10 to $2.90 per share.
  • Guidance: AstraZeneca expects overall 2022 revenue to increase by a high teens percentage, with core earnings growing by a mid-to-high 20s percentage. 
  • However, the Company said sales of COVID-19 products were expected to decline by a low-to-mid 20s percentage this year and that the gross profit margins from those products would be lower than the company average.
  • An expected decline in sales of the vaccine is likely to be only partially offset by growth in sales of the antibody drug, Evusheld, with the majority of vaccine revenue in 2022 expected to come from initial contracts.
  • Price Action: AZN shares are up 2.33% at $58.53 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.

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