AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced its financial results for the full year 2023, showing a 6% increase in total revenue and a 15% increase in core earnings per share.

The company’s total revenue reached $45,811 million, up from $43,075 million in 2022, despite a decline of $3,736 million from COVID-19 medicines. Excluding COVID-19 medicines, the company’s total revenue increased by 15% and its product sales increased by 14%.

The company attributed its growth to the strong performance of its core therapeutic areas, especially oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM), respiratory and immunology (R&I), and rare disease. These areas achieved double-digit total revenue growth of 21%, 18%, 10%, and 12%, respectively.

The company also improved its core product sales gross margin by two percentage points to 82%, reflecting the decline in sales of lower margin COVID-19 medicines. Its core operating margin increased by two percentage points to 32%, including a previously announced gain of $712 million from an update to the contractual relationships for Beyfortus, a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.

The company’s core earnings per share (EPS) increased by 15% to $7.26, while its reported EPS decreased by 4% to $4.67, mainly due to higher intangible asset impairment charges and legal settlement provisions.

The company declared a second interim dividend of $1.97 per share, making a total dividend declared for 2023 of $2.90 per share.

The company also highlighted its key milestones achieved since the prior results announcement, including three first approvals for new molecular entities: Truqap, a kinase inhibitor for advanced breast cancer; Wainua, an antisense oligonucleotide for transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy (ATTRv-PN); and Voydeya, a complement factor D inhibitor for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) with extravascular hemolysis (EVH).

The company also received several regulatory approvals for its existing products, such as Enhertu, a HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate for metastatic HER2-positive solid tumours, which was granted priority review in the US.

The company issued its guidance for 2024, based on the average foreign exchange rates through 2023. The company expects its total revenue and core EPS to increase by a low double-digit to low teens percentage at constant exchange rates (CER). The company also expects its collaboration revenue to increase substantially, driven by success-based milestones and certain anticipated transactions, while its other operating income to decrease substantially, due to the absence of some one-time gains recorded in 2023. The company expects its core tax rate to be between 18-22%.

The company cautioned that it is unable to provide guidance on a reported basis, because it cannot reliably forecast material elements of the reported results, such as fair value adjustments, impairment charges, and legal settlements. The company also noted that if foreign exchange rates for February 2024 to December 2024 were to remain at the average rates seen in January 2024, both its total revenue and core EPS would incur a low single-digit adverse impact versus the performance at CER.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “As AstraZeneca celebrates its 25th anniversary, we are pleased to report another year of strong financial performance and scientific progress, with double-digit earnings growth, and investment in exciting areas of science, including antibody drug conjugates and cell therapies, that lay the foundations for long-term success.

We expect another year of strong growth in 2024, driven by continued adoption of our medicines across geographies. Our differentiated and growing portfolio of approved medicines, global reach and rich R&D pipeline give us confidence that we will continue to deliver industry-leading growth.”