AstraZeneca shares drop on loss
Some rather disappointing news for AstraZeneca this morning. The drug maker has, as expected, posted a loss for the fourth quarter of 2013 and says it expects revenues and profits to decline in 2014 as it feels the impact of loss of exclusivity on several brands.
Expiring patents and competition from generics hampered performance for the FTSE 100 company. Reported loss before tax was $715m (£438.6m) for the quarter, with profit for the full year sliding 57 per cent to $3.3bn (£2.2bn) from $7.6bn in 2012.
Revenues are only expected to return to 2013 levels in 2017, said chief executive Pascal Soriot, adding "in the near term these headwinds will remain challenging".
The $1.76bn impairment charge related to Bydureon, AstraZeneca’s diabetes drug, has reduced earnings per share by $1.10, meaning a reported loss per share of $0.42 and a reported operating loss of $591m in the fourth quarter. A year earlier, the company saw an operating profit of $1.97bn.
Revenue fell to $6.84bn from $7.28bn in 2012.
The company said it expects a "low-to-mid single digit percentage decline in revenue at constant exchange rates (CER) for 2014", with core earnings per share expected to decline in the teens.
The board has recommended a second interim dividend of $1.90 (116.8p) to be paid on 24 March, bringing the full year dividend to $2.80. From the statement:
This dividend is consistent with the progressive dividend policy, by which the Board intends to maintain or grow the dividend each year.
Shares are down over one per cent this morning:
(Google)