AstraZeneca’s first quarter revenue rose by 10% to $13.6bn driven by sales growth in cancer therapies and biopharmaceuticals, when ignoring currency movements.
Underlying operating profit growth was a little faster at 12%, coming in at $4.8bn. Expenses were broadly flat except for research and development costs which increased 13% to over $3bn.
Free cash flow improved from $2.1bn to $3.3bn, with net debt landing at $26.1bn.
Dividends for the year are expected to increase slightly to $3.2 per share.
Full year guidance was unchanged with total revenue expected to grow at high single-digits.
The shares were flat in early trading.
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AstraZeneca key facts
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