Drugs group AstraZeneca announces annual profit slide

LONDON: British pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca on Thursday announced that net profit slumped 28 percent in 2018, dragged down by a heavy drop in upfront revenues for new drugs.

Profit after tax stood at $2.16 billion (1.91 billion euros) last year, down from $3.0 billion in 2017, also on restructuring costs.

AstraZeneca, whose drugs include cholesterol-lowering treatment Crestor, said so-called externalisation revenue, or income from the sale of new drugs still in development to other companies, slumped 55 percent last year.

The company ended 2018 on a high note however, with strong fourth-quarter sales of developed cancer drugs, helping boost the share price of AstraZeneca in early deals Thursday.

"2019 will be a year of focus on continued pipeline delivery and flawless commercial execution," said chief executive Pascal Soriot.

AstraZeneca's share price jumped four percent in early deals on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.4 percent overall.

"2018 feels like the year Astra turned the corner -- despite the fairly ugly drop in profits," noted Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown.

"Astra enjoyed a bumper fourth quarter, with product sales up eight percent thanks to a strong oncology performance," he added.