DJ AstraZeneca PLC AZN: H1 2016 Results
— Total Revenue down by 3% as expected, reflecting a 2% decline in Product Sales that was driven by patent expiries, in particular Crestor in the US. The phasing of Externalisation Revenue is towards H2 2016
— Reported and Core R&D costs increased by 6% and 9% respectively; Reported SG&A costs were stable, with Core SG&A costs declining by 5%, supporting full-year commitments
— Reported EPS declined 45%, negatively impacted by restructuring charges related to the recently-announced cost reduction programme. Core EPS declined 20%, reflecting the phasing of Externalisation Revenue to the second half of the year
— Reported and Core R&D costs increased by 6% and 9% respectively; Reported SG&A costs were stable, with Core SG&A costs declining by 5%, supporting full-year commitments
— Reported EPS declined 45%, negatively impacted by restructuring charges related to the recently-announced cost reduction programme. Core EPS declined 20%, reflecting the phasing of Externalisation Revenue to the second half of the year
— An unchanged first interim dividend per share of $0.90
— FY 2016 guidance unchanged
Commercial Highlights
The Growth Platforms grew by 7% in the half. Of the six platforms, the performance included:
— Emerging Markets: +7%. Encouraging China growth of 11%
— Diabetes: +18%. A good performance underpinned by the success of Farxiga
— Respiratory: +1%. Strong Emerging Markets sales of Symbicort, pricing compression in the US and Europe
— New Oncology: Sales of $251m reflected the successful ongoing launch of Tagrisso