AstraZeneca 4Q Net Profit Boosted By Licensing Deals
02 February 2017 - 6:57PM
Dow Jones News
By Denise Roland
LONDON--AstraZeneca PLC said net profit increased in the fourth
quarter as a rise in proceeds from licensing deals offset sharply
lower sales of the company's top-selling cholesterol pill, after
several cheap generic versions launched earlier this year.
Cambridge, England-based Astra said net profit more than doubled
to $1.8 billion in the three months to Dec. 31, from $808 million
in the same period a year earlier. Analysts expected net income of
$616 million. Revenue slipped 13% to $5.6 billion, from $6.4
billion a year ago, meeting analysts expectations.
The boost in net income was largely thanks to a rise in proceeds
from a string of licensing deals struck by Astra to offload drugs
that fall outside its core areas of focus, in order to raise funds
for developing new medicines.
Astra notched $1.1 billion from these deals in the fourth
quarter, compared with $471 million the same period a year
earlier.
Write to Denise Roland at Denise.Roland@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 02, 2017 02:42 ET (07:42 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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