LONDON, July 29 — AstraZeneca Tuesday beat second-quarter revenue and profit expectations on robust sales of newer cancer, heart and kidney disease medicines and strong demand in the US, where it has invested US$50 billion (RM212 billion) to expand amid tariff threats from Washington.
The performance is a boost for the UK’s largest-listed company by market value as the wider sector braces for US tariffs on pharmaceutical imports and navigates pressure after President Donald Trump’s order pushing for drugmakers to cut US prices to what other countries pay.
AstraZeneca shares rose as much as 2.2 per cent by 0813 GMT.
The drugmaker in April forecast only a limited impact from potential US tariffs, adding it would be able to meet its annual outlook if the levies on European imports were similar to those in other industries.
A European Union-US trade deal over the weekend will result in a 15 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals from the region.
The US accounted for more than 40 per cent of AstraZeneca’s revenue in 2024. The company had prioritised the market — the world’s largest, worth US$635 billion — even before Trump’s return to office.
AstraZeneca is betting on a wave of expected launches of 20 new medicines and its US expansion to reach US$80 billion in annual revenue by 2030 and offset generic competition.
On Tuesday, it maintained its 2025 outlook and increased its interim dividend by 3 per cent.
“Our strong momentum in revenue growth continued through the first half of the year and the delivery from our broad and diverse pipeline has been excellent,” CEO Pascal Soriot said.
Cancer drugs outperform
Sales of oncology drugs, constituting nearly half of AstraZeneca’s revenue, were up 18 per cent at US$6.31 billion at constant currency rates in the quarter.
Jefferies analysts said sales of drugs including Tagrisso, Lynparza, Calquence, Truqap and Imfinzi beat expectations.
Total revenue for the three months ended June grew 11 per cent to US$14.46 billion, with double-digit growth in the US despite headwinds from changes in US Medicare price negotiations. Core earnings stood at US$2.17 per share.
That compares with analysts’ expectations of US$2.16, and US$14.15 billion in sales, according to a company-provided consensus.
“Operationally, this is the type of quarter we want to see,” Barclays analysts said.
AstraZeneca is also hoping to move on from scandals in its second-biggest market, China, where it this year faced minor fines related to cancer drugs. It is also fighting patent challenges from an individual against Tagrisso.
The company also delayed late-stage Avanzar trial data for a key lung cancer treatment to the first half of 2026. — Reuters
