Pharmaceutical titan Astrazeneca has reported a surge in sales, attributing it to increased demand and reaffirmed its commitment to China despite the detention of a senior staff member. The FTSE 100 company announced to markets this morning that total revenue for the first nine months of the year climbed by 19 per cent to $39.2bn (£30.6bn).
The London-based firm subsequently revised its full-year guidance from mid-teens to "high teens" percentage growth. Revenue from cancer care rose by 22 per cent, heart care revenue increased by 21 per cent, and research revenue saw a 24 per cent rise, as reported by .
Core earnings per share also saw an increase of 11 per cent to $6.12.
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Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer at AstraZeneca, stated: "Our company has continued on its strong growth trajectory in the first nine months of 2024. Total Revenue and Core EPS were up 21 per cent and 27 per cent respectively in the third quarter, reflecting the increasing demand for our medicines... and supporting an upgrade to our full year 2024 guidance.
The CEO further added: "In the year to date we have announced the results for multiple positive high-value trials and are working to bring these new options to patients as quickly as possible. Additionally, the quality and impact of our scientific research was well recognised this quarter with data for AstraZeneca medicines featuring in an unprecedented five Presidential Plenary sessions at the two major oncology conferences in September."
"We are highly encouraged by the broad-based underlying momentum we are seeing across our company in 2024, and growth looks set to continue through 2025, providing a solid foundation to deliver on our 2030 ambition."
Astrazeneca remains dedicated to its operations in China despite facing several probes by Chinese authorities into the activities of current and former employees. The allegations range from medical insurance fraud and illegal drug importation to breaches of personal information.
Moreover, the president of Astrazeneca in China has been detained.
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"The company has not received any notification that it is itself under investigation. If requested, AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities," the pharmaceutical giant stated.
China contributed $1.6 billion to Astrazeneca's revenue in the first nine months of the year, which represents about four percent of the total.
In conjunction with this update, Astrazeneca also unveiled plans for a significant $3.5 billion investment in the United States aimed at enhancing its research and production capabilities by the end of 2026.
Over the past month, the company's stock value has seen a decline of over 16 percent.