International
Drugs firm AstraZeneca reports 33% rise in fourth-quarter profit
By Finfacts Team
Feb 2, 2006, 11:57

David Brennan was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca effective 1 January 2006. From 2001 until his appointment to CEO, David Brennan was President and Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca LP, the Company’s North America subsidiary. He was appointed Executive Board Director of AstraZeneca in 2005, with responsibility for the United States, the company’s largest market, as well as all North American operations.

Net income increased to $1.22 billion, or 77 cents a share, from $923 million, or 55 cents a share, AstraZeneca said.

The drugs firm whose Exanta blood thinner was rejected by the US FDAin 2004, is reducing research costs in the absence of new products to sell. AstraZeneca undertook a number of acquisitions in December, adding late-stage experimental medicines as challenges to a number of patents threaten the profitability of Seroquel and the ulcer treatment Nexium, which account for 30 percent of sales.

• Sales for the full year increased by 10 percent to $23,950 million.
• Operating profit increased by 39 percent to $6,502 million as a result of the strong sales growth and the impact of ongoing productivity gains. Operating margin for the year increased to 27.2 percent.
• AstraZeneca product portfolio now has 10 products with annual sales of $1 billion or greater.
• Strong performance from five key products (NexiumTM, SeroquelTM, CrestorTM, Arimidex and Symbicort), with combined sales reaching $10,849 million, up 27 percent for the full year.

• Supplemental New Drug Application submitted to US FDA in December for a new indication for Seroquel for the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
• Development pipeline strengthened. Four new chemical entities have been entered into Phase III development.
• Development pipeline augmented by three licensing transactions (one Phase III compound and two Phase II compounds) and the acquisition of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals announced in December.
• Dividend increased by 38 percent to $1.30 for the full year.
• Free cash flow of $6,052 million for the full year. Share repurchases totalled $3,001 million in 2005. Share repurchases in 2006 are expected to be at a similar level.
• The Company anticipates EPS for 2006 in the range of $3.40 to $3.60. This includes around 45 cents of earnings related to Toprol-XLTM for the remaining eleven months of 2006.

David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Strong growth from our key products and further