LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Astrazeneca Plc (AZN, AZN.L) reported profit attributable to owners of the parent of $1.49 billion for the fourth quarter, lower than $1.62 billion posted a year ago. Earnings per $0.25 ordinary share were $1.16 versus $1.14 last year, reflecting the impact of the prior period gain that affected reported operating profit. Core earnings per share advanced to $1.61 from $1.39 in the prior year. Profit before tax fell year-over-year to $2.05 billion from $2.28 billion. Revenue for the quarter rose to $8.66 billion from $8.62 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue performance in the quarter was impacted by government price interventions and the loss of around $450 million in revenue to generic competition. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.56 per share on revenues of $8.59 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Looking forward to 2012, the target for core earnings per share is in the range of $6.00 to $6.30. Besides, the company stated that revenue in 2012 will continue to be adversely affected by government interventions on pricing, and ongoing generic competition, including the anticipated loss of market exclusivity for Seroquel IR and Atacand in global markets, as well as for Crestor in Canada. Astrazeneca anticipates a constant currency revenue decline for 2012 in the low double-digit range. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $6.06 per share on revenues of $30.37 billion for the year.
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