AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) has reiterated its full-year guidance for 2025, following a robust set of results for the second quarter and first half, and pointed to a series of significant late-stage trial successes across its research and development pipeline.
The pharmaceutical group reported total revenue of $14.46 billion for the second quarter, up 12% compared with the same period last year at actual exchange rates, driven by double-digit growth in oncology and biopharmaceuticals.
Core earnings per share for the quarter rose 10% to $2.17, while reported earnings per share were $1.58, up 27%.
For the first half of the year, total revenue reached $28.05 billion, an increase of 11% at constant exchange rates. Core operating profit rose 13%, and core earnings per share were $4.66, up 17%. The company declared an interim dividend of $1.03, an increase of 3%.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot said: “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, with 12 positive key phase III trial readouts, including for baxdrostat, gefurulimab, and Tagrisso in just the past few weeks.”
During the first half, AstraZeneca also secured 19 regulatory approvals in major markets. This included green lights for treatments for blood cancers, lung cancer, and asthma across regions, including the United States, Europe, China and Japan.
Looking ahead, AstraZeneca has reaffirmed its outlook for the full year.
The company expects total revenue to rise by a high single-digit percentage, and core earnings per share to increase by a low double-digit percentage at constant exchange rates.
The core tax rate is expected to be between 18% and 22%. The guidance is based on average foreign exchange rates for 2024, with currency movements for the second half expected to have little impact.
Alongside its financial results, AZ highlighted its acquisition of EsoBiotec, a biotechnology group focused on in vivo cell therapies, in a deal worth up to $1 billion.
The group also entered a research partnership with CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group in China, with potential milestone payments of up to $1.62 billion for development and $3.6 billion for sales, as well as single-digit royalties on future product sales.
The Anglo-Swedish drug giant said growth in total revenue was delivered across all major regions.
The company noted an 11% rise in product revenue for the second quarter, while core research and development costs rose as a result of accelerated recruitment in late-stage trials and investment in new technology platforms.
The group is aiming for annual revenue of $80 billion by 2030, underpinned by ongoing investment in research, new product launches and its expanding pipeline.